When There Is No One To Avenge
by Zoya Shaf
Summary: Avengers Series of One Shots. Basically you'll get to see what an average day in the life of the Avengers is like. Everything from fierce basketball competitions to camping trips and grizzly bear attacks to pranks played by Loki to barbecues and road trips and just eating out. Me trying to write humor and barely succeeding. Rated T for safety. Minor language.
1. Steve takes Anger Management

**A/N: So this is me trying to write something humorous...and barely succeeding.**

**There's really no pairing for this chapter but I can't say about the other's. Before every chapter you'll find the pairing and a short summary of the chapter here.**

**It's an ordinary day and the Avengers are scattered and have nothing to do. Somehow they all end up in Central Park and what follows is a fierce basketball competition.**

* * *

**Steve takes Anger** **Management**

"So why exactly am I here?" Bruce pushed his glasses into place and looked at Tony. The two men were in Tony's lab facing his Iron Man suit.

"I got bored," was all the explanation Tony offered. He was busy running his eyes up and down his suit.

"So you call me here to work on your suit with you?" Bruce couldn't believe that he was literally dragged out of his house for this.

"Do you have a better option?" The other man turned to face him, his eyes wide and mocking.

Bruce cracked a smile and shook his head.

"So what do you want to do? Your suit already has everything."

"I was thinking a coffee holder."

"I'm being serious, Tony."

"Well, I'm not. Learn to live a little, Bruce. And if you continue to shake your head like that it'll fall off."

Bruce laughed.

"Who told you that?"

"Pepper," Tony replied in his most matter of fact voice. Bruce really hadn't been expecting an answer.

"Uh huh,"

"Okay so if you wanna be so serious, how about..." Tony paused to think. "I'm installing a sound system." He finally said after a few minutes.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Why not?"

"With the way you listen to music...you're going to have speakers all around your head if you put them in the mask, which is the only option, and at that close of a distance you'll go deaf."

The genius billionaire playboy philanthropist groaned. Bruce actually quite liked referring to Tony by that name. It was worth the swat he would get from Steve.

"Then you give me an idea."

"This is your idea of fun?" Bruce asked instead.

"We've been through this already."

"Right." Bruce turned his attention back to the suit.

"Disco light eyes?" He said shrugging his shoulders.

"What?" Tony doubled over laughing. He shouldn't have been laughing so hard since it wasn't really that funny, but being that it was Bruce who suggested it made it hilarious.

"I don't know. And you're laughing at disco light eyes? What about coffee holder? Where would you have even put that? Like a little tray sticking out from your hip or something?" Even to Bruce his voice sounded whiny.

Tony continued to laugh. Bruce waited patiently for his friend to stop.

A minute later, Tony was wiping his eyes.

"I quite like that, though. Disco light eyes," He muffled more laughter. "Ah...a radio system would go great with that."

Bruce shook his head.

"How about flame throwers instead?" He offered.

A smile.

"Flame throwers and disco light eyes...you're on a roll today, aren't you?" Tony teased the other man.

"You want to install binoculars? Or add binocular frames to the eyes?" Bruce ignored Tony.

"What for?"

"Why are we adding flame throwers and disco eyes?"

"We are? I thought you were just joking about that." Tony did sound slightly surprised.

"I don't know. It's your suit."

Silence.

"Sure, why not? We can add two more arms, too. And let's go for the disco eyes, flame thrower, binocular eyes, and a radio system."

"Two...more...arms?" Bruce asked hesitantly. Both men were now looking at the suit.

"Yeah. We can make them robotic."

"This is your Iron Man suit, not a circus costume."

"I have three others. I made this one yesterday for the sole purpose of experimenting with it."

"Fair enough. Are you sure, though? Should we begin?" Bruce turned to face Tony, who was now biting his lower lip.

"I'm rethinking the arms."

A pause.

"Oh well, what the hell. Let's go for it. I can always fix it up later if I don't like it."

"And what exactly will you do with four arms?"

The grin on Tony's face was sickening.

"Well, there's the fact that I can aim at four different enemies and there's the fact that..."

"Don't continue." Bruce pleaded causing Tony to laugh.

"Okay then. Jarvis, do I have equipment for a flame thrower?"

* * *

"Wanna go to the roof to check how it works?" Tony was staring at the modified version of his suit.

"It looks so strange…." Bruce said instead of replying to Tony's question.

Tony couldn't help but agree. The eyes were now tinted different colors and an antenna stuck out from its head for the radio. It didn't really need an antenna in order to play the radio but Bruce had insisted that it would be a nice touch so Tony had complied. For the separate sound system, the two men had given the mask ears so that the music could be heard by those who were not in the suit, too. Instead of sound coming in through the ears, it would go out. The two extra arms were shining from fresh paint under the two original arms and were twisted at a strange angle. The flamethrower had been embedded in the palm of the hands, so that wasn't an issue.

"Do you think that I'll be seeing everything in multi-color, now?" Tony asked looking at the eyes of the mask.

"Maybe." Both men were stunned.

"I think we should paint it a different color."

"What color?"

"Don't know. Suggestions?"

"It already looks strange enough."

"True, but still."

"Green?" Bruce offered.

Tony chuckled.

"Sure. Wanna add a cape?"

"Like Thor?"

Both men laughed at the ridiculous idea.

"I think we're getting carried away." Bruce said after the laughter had died down.

"I agree. I'm kinda regretting my decision….Pepper's going to freak out." Tony laughed. "I'll suit up and then let's head to the roof to give it a test run."

"Tomorrow's headlines: "Disco lights flashing through the Manhattan sky and Iron Man turns into a four armed freak."

"Ha ha ha. Very funny, Bruce." Tony jested as he began to suit up.

In a few minutes the two men found themselves on the roof of the Stark Tower, Tony in his new Iron Man suit.

"Wanna come?" Tony asked before he started his propellers and lowered his mask.

"I rather not," Bruce refused.

"Your loss," and with that Tony was off. He had started the sound system and disco lights at the same time he had kicked off so that 'The Night' by Disturbed was blasting across a radius of twenty miles and the disco lights were reaching even further. An array of red, green, blue, purple, yellow, and orange lights danced across the sky. To Tony the world had turned into a color wheel.

Tony did a little spin in the air, sending the robotic arms flailing.

"You look ridiculous!" Bruce shouted, positive that Tony wouldn't be able to hear him.

Waving to Bruce, Tony shot off. He flew over Central Park and slowed down just to see the shocked faces of passersby. They looked up and their jaws would drop open a little. Hey, he was Tony Stark, what did they expect? One kid actually dropped his ice cream and as bad as Tony felt for him, he was having too much fun to care.

He continued his flight over Central Park, humming along to the music, when a peculiar sight caught him off guard. He turned the music and lights off.

"What the hell?" Tony muttered as he saw Thor and Loki walk down one of the paths. Thor seemed to be talking to Loki, who, in turn, looked as if he were caught in between being bored out of his mind and sulking. They were dressed in Midgardian clothes, but still easily recognizable. People passing them on the road were staring in amazement.

Tony had half a mind to go down and check out what was happening but he decided against it. He didn't want to add to the people's shock and amazement. Thor and Loki having a conversation without ripping each other's throats out was one thing, but seeing Thor, Loki, and an Iron Man with multi-colored eyes, an antenna, and four arms was something entirely different. Instead he flew back to Stark Tower.

* * *

"How was it?" Bruce asked once Tony's feet were back on the ground…er, roof.

"We'll talk about that later. Let's go take a stroll through Central Park." Tony replied walking into Stark Tower in order to get his suit off.

"…..Why?" Bruce asked confusion written all over his face.

"I feel like it, that's why." Tony grabbed Bruce by the elbow and dragged him to the elevator and out the front door.

Bruce sighed once they were out and about. Tony let go of his arm.

"Come on," He said moving forward.

After a moment Bruce followed.

* * *

"Tasha?" Natasha heard her name just as she was taking her headphones off; she was in the shooting room practicing her aim.

Natasha turned her head towards the glass door and on the other side of it she saw Clint. He was dressed in normal clothes and Natasha's curiosity sparked. She walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey Clint, what's up?"

"Let's go out for something to eat."

Natasha raised her eyebrows at him.

"Fury said it's okay and I'm tired of eating lunch from the cafeteria." Clint made a face.

Natasha knew too well about Clint's appetite and The SHIELD cafeteria food was horrendous.

"Where to?" she asked caving in to the puppy dog eyes that her best mate was giving her.

"Central Park?" he asked.

"Sure."

"You're going to change right?"

Natasha looked down at her attire.

"Give me five minutes."

"Sure."

* * *

Steve was sitting on a bench somewhere in Central Park, feeding bread crumbs to pigeons. He had been visiting Peggy's grave and when he was finished he didn't have the heart to go home or to Tony's, so instead he had come to Central Park. He had walked around for a while and then settled down on a bench. Somehow he had ended up feeding pigeons. He needed a distraction but none was coming. He sighed irritably.

Steve was drawn from his thoughts when, out of nowhere, a basketball came and hit him in the leg. Looking up he saw a teenage boy running towards him. Upon seeing who his basketball had rolled to, the teenager's jaw slightly dropped.

"Damn…I'm so sorry." A pause in which Steve handed the kid's basketball to him. "Your…You're Captain America, right?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yup," Steve replied without any enthusiasm.

"Oh…." The kid turned to walk away but then turned back around.

"Do you want to play with us?" He asked, hope lacing his voice.

"Hm?"

"It's just that….it's just that you look really….um, do you want to play basketball with us?" He motioned to his friends back at the court.

Well, Steve has asked for a distraction.

"Sure," he said getting up from his seat.

* * *

"No but like…who does that?" Clint asked in disbelief. Natasha briefly choked on her pretzel.

"Tony?" She replied.

"Fury was really pissed off. You should have seen his face, it was as red as your hair. He was like 'Stark, you bastard! Get down from there!'" Clint put one hand over his eye and stiffened up in an attempt to mimic Fury. He even animated his voice to match the director's.

"Good one! Now do Thor," Natasha teased. She was enjoying the moment. It wasn't very often that the two got to take a break from work and just hang out.

Clint laughed.

"He's difficult 'cuz sometime he goes all Asgardian on you and then sometimes he talks normally. Oh gosh," Clint's laughter increased as he remembered something.

"What?" Tasha asked.

"Never ever let Thor near any sort of animal," was all the explanation her friend offered.

"Uh huh," Natasha went back to munching on her snack.

A pleasant silence settled between the two. A few moments passed and then,

"What's wrong?" Tasha asked as she noticed a shift in the air between her and Clint. Taking a break from eating the pretzel in her hand, she turned to look at him.

The man was staring off somewhere his eyes wide, mouth open and hot dog half way to his mouth.

"Clint?" Natasha waved her free hand in front of his face.

"That looks like Steve doesn't it?"

Natasha followed the path of his gaze to a nearby basketball court. Currently, a group of kids were surrounding a single man who seemed to have anger issues to match Bruce's. He was playing with such force that every time he made a shot, the entire hoop and pole would sway back and forth. The kids were watching in amazement but slowly backing away.

It took her a while but Natasha recognized the mop of blood hair and the old fashioned dressing style.

"That is Steve," She said.

Clint groaned.

"We didn't see anything," he replied.

"Yeah," Natasha answered back and yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from Cap. "Some thing's wrong with him." She said after a while.

Clint groaned once again.

"We're having lunch, Tasha."

"He's a friend, Clint."

"Good point."

The two agents quickly finished the remains of their food and hurried over to the court.

"Hopefully we'll get there before the thing topples over, huh?" Clint joked.

* * *

"I don't see why that's so funny," Tony was complaining. He'd been telling Bruce about the catastrophe known as taking Pepper to dinner. Instead of sympathizing with him, Bruce was doubling over laughing,

"It's hilarious." Bruce replied once he was done.

"If it happened to you it wouldn't have been so funny,"

Bruce thought it over. "True," he said.

"Okay, over there," Tony suddenly changed the direction in which the two were walking. He came to a sharp halt and then turned right and began to walk very quickly as if to catch up to something.

"Where are you going?" Bruce called after him. He didn't have to wait to long for his answer. As he fell in step next to Tony he saw that they were currently following Thor and Loki.

"Okay, what are you up to?" Bruce asked.

"You mean, 'what are we up to?'"

"Oh no. No, no, no. You're not dragging me into whatever this is. Remember what happened last time? Fury put you under house arrest."

"That was different," Tony grit his teeth in the memory. Then lowering his voice he said,

"Isn't it strange that Thor and Loki are walking through Central Park having a conversation so calmly?"

"Yes, but I don't see why your concerning yourself with this. You just like playing detective. You even showed up at my door step dressed as Sherlock Holmes for Halloween."

"That was because I was going to a party and I needed someone to go with me and Pepper was sick."

"Good to know I'm a second option," Bruce joked.

"Oh, shut up." Tony swatted Bruce on the arm without taking his eyes off of the two gods in front of them.

"Let's move closer so we can hear what they're talking about." Tony whispered to Bruce and grabbing him by the elbow, yet again, he dragged the man forward. Now they were only a few paces behind Thor and Loki and could hear snippets of the conversation.

"Why are you tiptoeing?" Bruce asked Tony who replied with a "shhh!"

"Such a thing exists? I thought it was merely Midgardian fantasy!" Thor was saying.

Tony quickly looked to Bruce, eyes confused.

"I assure you it exists. The whole town is under the Statue of Liberty." Loki replied swiftly.

"What?" Tony whispered.

"You'd make a terrible spy," Bruce whispered back.

That shut Tony's mouth.

"I do not believe you." Thor replied after a while.

"Oh well, your loss." Loki quickened his pace and Thor stopped walking. Tony and Bruce, too, slowed down as to not bump into Thor.

"Are you sure that these are the same ones from the magic box?"

"Magic box? That's what Thor calls my television."

Bruce muffled laughter and then as he saw that Loki was going to turn around he grabbed Tony and the two ducked behind a tree. The two grown men were truly playing pretend.

"The magic box?" Loki crinkled his eyebrows.

"Friend Tony has many in his dwelling. Tiny people move about in it…yet, a few times I saw our reflections in it."

Realization dawned on Loki's face and Tony groaned. After he was finished catching Steve up on modern day technology he was going to move onto helping Thor.

"You mean the televi…yeah, the same ones from the magic box." Tony found it amusing how well Loki had adapted to the Midgardian dialect. The two brothers were polar opposites and yet complimented each other so well.

Thor's face lit up.

"If you are fooling me brother the consequences shall be dire. But for now I shall have faith in you."

"They made up?" Bruce asked Tony, who in response shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

As Thor and Loki started walking again, Bruce and Tony came out of hiding.

"They seem to be talking in code, Agent 002."

Tony looked at Bruce amused.

"Either you're hanging out with me too much,"

"Against my will," Bruce interrupted Tony's sentence, jokingly. He went ignored.

"Or you're extremely tired."

"A bit of both."

"Fair enough."

"What now?" Bruce asked.

"I don't think following them will do anything. I didn't even understand what they were talking about. A whole town under the Statue of Liberty?"

"Maybe Loki's trying to prank Thor."

"Oh…." A pause. "I didn't think of that," Tony answered.

"Should we continue following them?"

"Nah….I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."

"Sure."

* * *

As fate would have it, Tony and Bruce ended up at the same food stand that Clint and Natasha had been.

"So what are you going to do about the suit?" Bruce asked once they had gotten their food.

"Take it apart and return it to normal." Tony replied sadly.

"That's why you should never so things impulsively."

"Come on, you know you had fun. The point wasn't to work on the suit."

Bruce didn't reply. He had had fun but at the moment he was too busy watching the events of the nearby basketball court.

"Look, Natasha, Clint, and Steve are also here." He said pointing in their direction.

Tony lazily turned his head.

"Oh the joy, the whole freak show's here." And then he saw the distressed look on Steve's face.

"What's today's date?" He asked Bruce.

"July first,"

"That idiot," Tony started to walk off again and Bruce knew that he had no choice but to follow.

* * *

By now a crowd had formed around the basketball court and Natasha and Clint had unsuccessfully tried to get Steve to calm down.

"What's going on?" Hearing Tony's voice, Clint turned his head.

"Steve's lost it." He replied sighing. A small crater had formed under the hoop and some of the screws were coming out.

"I can see," Tony replied. A pause and then,

"Steve, you loner! I wanna shoot some hoops, too." He began to walk onto the battle field.

"TONY, NO! YOU WON'T COME BACK ALIVE!" Clint shouted after him. Tony replied by throwing Clint a grin over his shoulder.

"My money's on Steve." Clint turned to face Bruce as soon as Tony looked away.

"Mine too," Bruce replied.

"They're both dumbasses," Natasha muttered. "My money's on Tony." She added out-loud.

Bruce and Clint turned to look at her with open mouths.

"What?" She shrugged. Then turning back to the court she said,

"Twenty bucks to the winner."

* * *

"Steve, are you going deaf?" Tony came up in front of the super soldier and just as he was about to shoot Tony caught the ball.

For the first time Cap seemed to notice that he wasn't the only one there.

"Tony?" He asked, confused.

"Nope, Richard Bax."

"What?"

"I don't know."

"Can I have that back?" Steve changed the subject and gestured to the ball in Tony's hands.

"I'm surprised it hasn't deflated yet. What exactly are you doing?"

"Playing basketball."

"You made a hole in the ground."

"What?"

Tony moved aside so that Steve could see.

"Oh….so?"

Tony sputtered.

"So?" he threw the question back at Steve.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say, Tony."

"One on one?" Tony tried a different angle.

"What?"

"Shooting hoops by yourself is neither challenging nor fun. Plus, you look lonely."

Steve thought it over.

"Sure." He decided.

"Hey Bruce!" Tony called over his shoulder.

"I am not getting involved!" Bruce shouted back. God knows what would happen if the Hulk decided to make an appearance.

"Pshh…no one wants you to, anyway. I was going to ask you to do the ball toss."

"Oh….okay." Bruce slowly walked over to where his two friends were standing in the middle of the court. He took the ball from Tony and looked to Steve.

"You better win this. Clint and I are betting on you."

"Betrayal!" Tony cried and then, "Who's betting on me?"

"Tasha,"

"A smart woman."

Bruce chuckled and shaking his head, Steve smiled.

"Okay, on the count of three. One…two..thr…" Bruce was cut off by a very familiar voice.

"MY FRIENDS! This day brings many joyful tidings! Are you about to engage in merriment of sorts?" Thor and Loki came into view, walking down one of the paths. The crowd that had gathered around them gasped. Loki looked away.

"And you people tell me to speak English," Tony scoffed.

"Uh…basketball and why's he with you?" Steve replied.

"My brother and I were conversing about the wonders that this land holds. Basketball? What is that? How does one play? May I take part in this game?" Thor was staring at them with hopeful eyes.

Steve looked at Tony.

"You can get Shakespeare and I get Legolas."

"What? I am not playing." Clint called from his position.

"Who is this Shakespeare? Twice you have addressed me as this."

"This is why you should have spent more time studying literature than gorging yourself and playing warrior," Loki muttered under his breath so that no one heard. He wanted to leave but he couldn't. For the day he was tied to Thor.

"Go ahead, Clint." Natasha patted him on the back.

"Tasha?" He turned to her, betrayal sounding in his voice.

"What? It's going to be fun. Go. Like you said, it's not every day Fury gives us off from work. Enjoy it. Now go." She was going to enjoy this.

Sighing in defeat, Clint headed towards the court and stood next to Tony.

"Thor, you're on my team." Steve said and Thor merrily walked next to him.

"Can you play basketball, two on two? Usually it's three on three or more…" Tony mumbled.

"Doesn't matter. Let's just get this over with. Why'd you have to drag everyone into it?"

"Someone's not a happy camper."

Clint only pouted more. Meanwhile, Steve was explaining the rules of the game to Thor, who was nodding earnestly.

"I feel bad for whoever's ball this is." Bruce said, tossing and catching the ball in his hands.

"Oh it's theirs. But, they don't mind." Steve pointed to a group of kids standing in the crowd.

Bruce nodded at them in greeting, smiling at their shocked faces. All the Avengers were out and about in public, a rare sight. More over, they were about to engage in a basketball competition.

"Understand, Thor?" Steve finished explaining.

"Yes."

"Okay, Bruce. Throw it up, Tony and I'll do the catch."

"Okay,"

Loki went and stood next to Natasha a little distance apart as Bruce started the count again.

"Uh…you all might want to move back a few paces," Natasha said to the crowd. They all complied never once moving their eyes from the court.

"Three," Bruce said as he threw the ball into the air. As soon as the ball was out of his hands, Tony and Steve jumped for it, Steve catching it.

"I can't believe you betted on Tony," Bruce said to Natasha now that he was back.

"Wait and watch," was all the answer Natasha gave.

Bruce did. He watched as Steve landed on the ground, the ball clutched in his hands. His eyes searched for Thor, and upon spotting him he started to dribble and made a step in Thor's direction. Tony beat him to it. Snatching the ball from Steve's hands he threw it to Clint, who was waiting near the basket.

"SCORE!" Tony yelled as the ball fell into the hoop.

"What?" Steve exclaimed. Thor also stood, stupefied.

"Steve and Thor have brute force but Tony has intellect and the brute force comes with Clint." Natasha said to Bruce.

"This is basketball." Bruce offered in reply to her statement.

"Everything works with a strategy. Tony waited for Steve to catch the ball and then stole it."

"I guess…but it's only one shot."

"Hm…"

* * *

As the minutes passed, the game intensified.

"I have no idea how that ball hasn't deflated yet," Bruce was saying over and over.

Once Thor got the ball he made a run for it. He ran up to the hoop and threw the ball in. Turning to Steve, a lopsided grin on his face, he joyfully stated,

"Look, friend! I got one!"

Steve weakly smiled.

"Thor, you can't just take the ball and run like that. You have to dribble."

Thor tilted his head to the side, not understanding. Tony burst out laughing.

"It's okay, dude. You'll get the hang of it. But as of now, that didn't count. And try running a little…softer? I swear I felt like an earthquake was coming."

Another time the ball was heading straight towards Thor's face and he hit it as one would hit a baseball with a bat. The ball went flying into a tree a few yards away. A kid from the crowd went after it and threw it to Steve, who laughed uneasily.

"It's six to eight, with Tony in the lead." Natasha informed Bruce and Clint made another shot.

"Thor'll pull through." Bruce reasoned.

And he did. It was about half way through the game, when Thor made his first shot. He'd dunked the ball so hard that it went through the hoop and back up and down again. Tony watched with his mouth slightly open.

"Uh….twelve to fourteen." He announced. "Good job, Thor." He turned to him and said. Clint was watching in disbelief.

"Did that…wha…never mind." He shook his head.

The game started up again, this time with Thor on a role.

* * *

By the time it was around six in the afternoon, the guys had been playing for an hour and half.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, you guys should really stop now." Natasha called out. She was eyeing the swaying hoop. No one seemed to have heard her so she turned to the crowd.

"Uh…guys? Please clear away the crowd. We don't want anyone getting injured. There are already too many craters in the ground…" She let the sentence hang. Steve falling to the floor was one thing, but when both him and Thor were knocked off their feet and sent flying, craters occurred.

The crowd took a moment to digest Tasha's words and then began to clear away. The kids that had been there in the beginning, hung back.

"What's the score?" Bruce asked.

"You're enjoying this too much." Tasha replied.

"You were too before you realized all the cons."

"True…..I lost count of the score."

"Eighteen to eighteen," Loki answered for Tasha.

She and Bruce turned to look at the god in surprise.

"I am confined to this place for the day and even a god gets bored and there is nothing else to do. I cannot leave this place until Thor does." He replied not taking his eyes off the game.

"Uh huh…" Natasha said. She too turned back to the game.

Another minute passed and two more shots were made, one by Steve and one by Tony. It was tied score and the game would have gone on all night if it wasn't for the loud screeching noise that pierced the evening sky.

As Steve stopped dribbling, the ball was forgotten and bounced away, one of the kids running after it. All eyes were on the hoop pole. It moved back and the forward, left to right and with a final screech it tilted towards the ground.

Thor and Steve made a run for it. Catching the pole a few feet from the ground, they struggled to straighten it.

"Shit," Tony muttered as he activated the bracelets around his arms. In a few seconds his Iron Man suit (the normal one) was on and he kicked on his propellers and helped Steve and Thor straightens the pole.

"Don't let go," he said as he landed on the ground. Using the lasers he melted the metal to the ground. Once the pole was secured in place, he packed up his suit. The kids were watching with open mouths and Tasha and Bruce were trying to muffle laughter.

"Who won?" Clint asked once all was said and done.  
"Tie." Everyone else exclaimed in despair.

"Well at least, you're feeling better." Tony turned to Steve.

"What?...oh...oh gosh, Tony. Is that was this was about?" Steve smiled at his friend. "I feel amazing except for the fact that I am drenched in sweat."

"Me too, buddy, me too."

They paused and took in the landscape around them.

Other than the hoop they had caused little damage. Only a few branches had fallen off trees when the ball had gone rocketing into them and there was a hole here and there, but it was all okay.

"Yeah…let's never do this again." Clint said.

"Agreed." A chorus of voices replied.

* * *

**The whole thing with Loki and Thor in this chapter will be explained in a later chapter.**

**So...I hoped this at least made someone smile...**

**If anyone has a suggestion for what the Avengers could do when they aren't protecting the world either pm me or add it to your review**


	2. Red, White, and Steve

**A/N: I should really have posted this yesterday, but oh well.**

**I don't know why the past chapter and this one are about Steve. He's not even my favorite Avenger XD but come on, who doesn't like Steve? He's adorable. Okay um...totally off topic.**

**So STONY! Or hints of it atleast**

**Thor asks Tony what a barbecue is and Tony sets out to explain.**

* * *

**Red, White, and Steve**

Tony was in his living room sprawled on his couch, lazily flipping through TV channels. His head was at one end of the couch, one arm and leg thrown over the back and the other arm and leg dangling off the edge.

"I have nearly a thousand TV channels and still nothing to watch," he groaned. Pepper had gone out for a few hours on some meeting and he was bored out of his mind. Finally, after another ten minutes of flipping through the channels, Tony settled on watching the BBC drama Sherlock. The channel was running a marathon for the first series and Tony had always heard that it was a good show and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to give it a chance.

By the end of the first episode his eyes were glued to the screen. By the end of the second episode he was screaming at John for getting a girlfriend and not realizing that deep down he was truly in love with Sherlock. By the end of the third episode, Tony was ready to break his TV screen.

"One does not simply end an episode like that and then make someone wait forever for the next one!" He angrily declared as he went through his guide looking for when they would be running series two of the show. Apparently he would have to wait a whole day for them to premiere the second series. Tony groaned. But at least three hours had gone by. Looking over at his clock, Tony realized that it was only three in the afternoon. Another groan; he was going to die of boredom.

"You know I wouldn't actually mind if Thor came crashing through my roof right now." He said to the still air. A moment later he regretted it. Just as the accursed words left his mouth a rumbling sound caused Tony to yelp in surprise. For a moment the living room violently shook and then with a puff of smoke that was really flying flakes of dried paint and cement, Thor appeared in between Tony and his TV.

"Thor," he groaned taking in the damage done to his roof. Thor had crashed through two floors and all the rubble was currently cluttered all over his living room floor. "Be careful what you wish for," Tony muttered to himself. "Well, it's not like I wished for Thor to come…ugh, whatever."

Turning to face Thor he said,

"Thor for the millionth time, we have doors for a reason. I don't know how you do it on Asgard but on Earth we have this great invention. I even showed you how to use one, remember?"

Thor hadn't seemed to have heard. Instead he looked very distressed.

"Friend Tony, I pay my sincerest apologies for the damage but I am quite confused. What is this barbecue ritual?"

Tony's jaw dropped.

"What the hell, Thor? You break my ceiling, my office floor, and my bedroom floor, to ask me what a barbecue is?" He asked, his voice slightly high pitched.

Thor nodded. "It is of utmost importance and urgency."

"How?"

"Jane had invited me to one and I do not know what to do."

"So you come to me of all people?"

Thor nodded yet again.

"I have noticed that you deal with Midgardian woman very well."

Tony laughed.

"Uh huh…I'm sure if you knew all the details you wouldn't say that…but um, a barbecue isn't really a ritual and I guess…it's like a….feast?" Tony didn't really know how to explain. The whole situation was ridiculous.

"Basically you have this grill and you grill chicken legs and steak. Stuff like that."

Thor stared at him blankly.

"Okay..." maybe Tony should try a different approach. "When is this barbecue?"

"Tomorrow. She said it was in celebration for the fourth day of this month."

"A fourth of July barbecue? How American. You should take Steve with you; he'll have a kick out of it. But dude, seriously, doors. They work wonders. Jarvis?" Tony was all over the place, a silly idea dawning on him. He had forgotten all about fourth of July, yet it wasn't really the Independence day aspect that he cared for . Tony was such an idiot, he had almost forgotten.

"Yes sir?"

"Dial Pepper. Ask her to get something for a barbecue."

"Will do."

"Are you hosting one too, friend Tony?"

"Well now I am. Have nothing better to do, might as well. Oh and Jarvis?"

"Yes sir?"

"Dial everyone else too. Tell them party at Steve's place."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"What happened, Jarvis?" Tony replied unable to remove the stupid grin on his face.

"At Mister Roger's house?" Jarvis asked.

"Yes, Jarvis."

A pause.

"Will do." Tony could almost imagine Jarvis sighing.

* * *

Steve was watching a recap of the 2012 European Soccer Cup (there was nothing else on TV) when his doorbell rang. Wondering who it could be, he hoisted himself off his couch and dragged himself to the door. Opening it, Steve found Tony standing on his steps with Thor, a silly grin on his face. A feeling of dread filled Steve.

"Hey, Tony. What's up?" He was not yet ready to invite Tony in. Last time the man had entered his house, Steve had ended up calling fire department.

"I was wondering if I could use your backyard."

"What?" Not what Steve had been expecting.

"Friend Tony wants to host a barbecue ritual,"

"For the hundredth time, Thor, it's not a ritual." Tony interrupted him.

"Then a barbecue?" Thor looked at Tony for his approval which he got in the form of a nod.

"Okay... you do that, Tony. But why my backyard?"

Tony looked at Steve as if that was the most ridiculous question ever.

"Oh, Steve darling, use your brain. I live in Midtown, Manhattan. Where could I possibly find a place to hold a barbecue? Whereas you, Steve, you have a lusciously green plot of land behind your house."

"It's called Central Park, Tony." Steve was still not convinced.

"I think after our last trip there it's best to lay low for a while…" Tony cleared his throat. "Thanks to a certain someone." He added, winking at Steve. Thor was giggling. "And anyways," Tony continued. "You're Captain America! Where's you American pride? Fourth of July is literally just around the corner." There was something else right around the corner too, but Tony didn't mention that.

"So you're celebrating it a day early?"

At this Tony's smile fell a little.

"Well yeah…I'm actually doing this for Thor." The said god had walked down the steps and was examining the patch of flowers that Steve had in his front yard. "Jane invited him to a bbq tomorrow and he has no idea what it is, so I was like why not? I was bored out of my mind and anyways it's a beautiful day. The sun's out, not a cloud in the sky, and the wind's blowing nicely. It's not too hot, either."

"I don't even have a grill, Tony."

"I do. It's in the trunk of my car."

Steve opened his mouth to speak but decided against it; he knew he couldn't win.

"Just don't…just don't burn anything down." He said.

Laughing, Tony walked down the steps and headed towards his car.

"Thor, help me get the stuff out. Oh and Steve, I invited everyone else to."

Steve wasn't even shocked.

"I have party mix," He informed Tony, lamely.

* * *

"Okay, Jarvis. What time? As soon as possible? Uh….okay, I guess. Steve's place, right? Yeah, okay. Got it," Clint snapped his phone shut and stared at the extensive Manhattan sky line in front of him; he was currently perched on the roof of SHIELD NYC HQ's.

"A barbecue, huh?" He said to himself. Come to think of it, he was really hungry and anyways, they weren't doing anything special today.

Picking himself up he headed towards the lab where he would find Bruce and Natasha.

* * *

Clint entered the lab just as Bruce clicked his phone shut.

"You got a call from Jarvis too?" He asked.

"We both did," Bruce motioned at Natasha and himself.

"Doing something important?" Clint walked himself over to the desk where Bruce was working, placed his elbows on the desk and rested his head in his hands.

"Not really. Was just tr," Clint cut Bruce off.

"Fantastic. Let's go."

"What?"

"I'm starving and Tony makes awesome bbq. Let's go."

Natasha laughed.

"Will the day ever come when food is not on your mind?"

Clint laughed.

"The day had come and gone. Now let's go!"

"What about Fury?" Bruce asked.

"Are you doing anything important?" Clint asked again.

"No…"

"Then he won't care."

With that said, Clint dragged Bruce and Natasha out of the building and into Bruce's car.

* * *

"I do not understand. What is the difference between this and using the one in the kitchen that Lady Pepper uses."

Tony burst out laughing at the "Lady Pepper."

"Well you see, Thor, it tastes different." Tony picked up a finished chicken leg from the grill and put it in a plate. Breaking a tiny piece off, he jammed it into Thor's mouth.

"Good, right?"

Steve chuckled at the sight. He was currently lounging on one of the chairs that the three men had set up. Well, more like the chairs that Thor and Steve had set up while Tony was giving out 'instructions.' As of now, they had set up a table and a few chairs around it in Steve's backyard. They had gathered whatever food they could get their hands on and placed it on the table. A music player had been taken out of Tony's car and was currently shuffling the said man's IPod. All in all, it had turned out better than Steve had expected. This is just the beginning, he reminded himself.

"I wanna try some." Steve said suddenly, jumping up and heading over to where Tony and the grill were standing.

"This does taste nice," Thor replied after he was finished. He reached out for more, but Tony moved the plate further from him and handed it to Steve.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked. It would be no fun if they were the only ones here.

His question was soon answered. A bell sounded and the familiar voices of Clint, Natasha, and Bruce could be heard.

"I'll get it," Steve said for no apparent reason.

* * *

"Oh gosh, something smells delicious." Clint said as Steve led them through the gate and straight into the backyard.

"Who knew Tony could cook so well, right?" Cap threw over his shoulder.

"I heard that, Steve. For your information I'm a master at everything I do."

Natasha quickly turned her laughter into a cough and even Bruce couldn't help the smile that formed on his face.

As they all filed into the backyard, Clint headed over to where Tony was.

"Only chicken? Nothing else?" He asked.

Tony laughed.

"There's more but it's marinating."

"Uh huh…" The fragrance was making Clint's mouth water.

"So what now, we just eat and go home?"

"You're such a stick in the mud, Bruce." Tony groaned.

"He's right though." Natasha added as she took a seat next to Steve.

"Oh shit, Steve!" Tony shrieked out of nowhere.

"What? Fire!" Cap jumped out of his chair, knocking it aside and frantically looked around.

"Steve, you dumbass." Was all the response Tony offered. Then after a moment, "There is no fire, sit your ass back down."

"Why'd you scream like that? Almost gave me heart attack," Steve replied as he picked up his chair and sat down. Everyone was looking at him with amusement flickering in their eyes.

"I didn't scream. I don't scream. Uh….I just remembered, your birthday's tomorrow, right? Wow, did your parents plan that or something? Like…but, how could they have known you'd be Captain America. That's just really freaky." Tony was shaking his head.

Muffled laughter could be heard all around as Steve rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Weird coincidence?" He shook his shoulders. "And yeah, tomorrow's my birthday." Steve added after a moment's thoughts.

"Did anyone bring cake?"

Tony turned to find a wave of shaking heads.

"Do you have candles?"

"No. And even if I did I wouldn't give them to you. What would you even do with them? Put them on a piece of meat?"

"Yes, and come on, Steve, get over it! It was an accident."

"My TV melted."

A chuckle emitted from Tony's lips but he quickly stopped.

"I got you a new one."

"That's not the point,"

"Calm down, girls." Natasha spoke from her post. "Gosh, I didn't come here for this."

"It's better than being stuck in the office," Clint replied.

"First batch is ready!" Tony declared as he handed Thor the plate to take to the table.

"Antony, may I try next?" Thor asked as he set the plate down and grabbed a piece for himself.

"Uh…."

"Let him try, Tony. What's the worst he could do?" Steve said as he chewed.

"What? So you're worried about me burning your house down but you're not at all worried about Thor? No offense big guy, we all love you. And nooooo, I'm having fun."

Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Okay fine, Tony. Have it your way. You just won't have any of this delicious food to eat."

"No, Steve, no. Don't." Clint shook his head furiously.

Cap sheepishly grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't believe we're having a normal meeting for once." Natasha spoke up.

"God yes." Bruce agreed. The memory of the Central Park fiasco was still fresh in his head.

"Hey, Thor? What was that whole thing with Loki?" Natasha turned to look at the grill and saw that the two men there were talking under their breath with Thor poking Tony in the arm. Even though Tony's eyes were on the grill, he was swatting at Thor with one hand.

Without turning around to face the group, Thor spoke.

"Mother thought it would be entertaining to bind us together for the day. I had promised Jane that I would visit her on that day and you cannot even imagine the look of horror on her face when I showed up with Loki." Thor chuckled to himself.

"What were you talking about in the park? Something about the Statue of Liberty?" Bruce asked when Thor had finished. Tony looked at him in surprise.

Thor didn't ask how they knew about that.

"You do not know either? My brother informed me that there is a whole city of those creatures from the magic box under the lady in the water."

"Uh huh," Bruce turned away from Thor. Maybe it was best to leave that subject hanging. Bruce wasn't sure he was going to like what he was going to hear if he dug any deeper.

"Oh," Clint looked up from his plate in sudden realization.

"What happened?" Natasha asked.

"Tony, till when are we staying here?"

"Getting bored already, Clint?"

"No, just remembered something."

"You can leave whenever. I'm here till midnight."

"What? Why?" Steve sputtered.

"Don't act like you don't love me, Steve." Tony threw back with a wink.

Steve sighed.

For the next moment everything was peaceful and all the Avengers settled for small talk. It was quite the scene, with the sun setting in the background.

And then that moment passed.

A burning smell filled the air accompanied by a loud bang. Everyone jumped and looked over at Tony and Thor. All the meat on the grill was currently as black as coal.

"What happened?" a chorus of voices asked. Thor and Tony, both of them had black soot on their faces, were blinking at each other.

"It wasn't me," They both spoke.

Their faces were so ridiculous, with wide eyes and blackened faces and hair; that everyone burst out laughing. Maybe there was no such thing as a normal day for the Avengers.

"What now?" Steve asked, wrinkling his nose the smell of burnt meat.

"Yes, what now?" Tony and Thor were both staring at the grill, their faces perplexed.

"Now, Bruce takes over." Bruce got up and took the tongs from Tony and placing his hand on the man's shoulder, moved him aside. "Both of you go sit down and eat."

Thor and Tony stared at Bruce for a moment, then at each other, and then at Bruce again.

Then, without a word they headed towards the table, heads hung and arms limp.

* * *

It was nearing midnight and all the Avengers were lounged on Steve's couch watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC family.

Noticing that Tony was missing, Steve excused himself and headed towards the kitchen where he had last seen the man.

"Tony, are you there?" He asked as he entered the room. He found his answer when he saw the man seated around the tiny circular dining table he had there.

"What are you doing, Tony?"

"Waiting for you. Sit."

Steve laughed as he was invited to sit down on his own dining table in his kitchen.

"So, I'm sitting what now?"

"We wait." Tony's eyes were fixed on the clock.

A moment of silence passed. Tony couldn't help himself.

"Tick tock, tick tock," he began to mutter.

"Oh gosh, shut up, Tony! You're freaking me out."

Tony chuckled.

A minute before twelve, fifty nine seconds, fifty eight seconds, fifty seven seconds…..three seconds, two seconds, one second,

"Happy Birthday!" Tony shouted, whipping something out of his pocket.

"What?" Steve asked shocked.

"Happy Birthday," the other man repeated, placing a small box in front of him.

"Are you proposing to me, Tony?" Steve asked jokingly.

"Don't you wish. It's from all of us, even Phil chipped in."

Steve hesitantly picked up the small box and opened it. Inside was a bronze circular locket. An intricate pattern was carved onto it: a sword stuck in a rock was carved into the middle and around the sword were twirling banners. The banners had his name engraved onto them. Turning the locket around Steve found the words "Stuck in time to go from one fate to another." Steve guessed that once the words would have stung but now they didn't. And anyways, Tony really didn't have a way with words.

"You got me a necklace? And what's the back supposed to mean?" He asked, despite the fact that he was overflowing with joy.

Tony didn't reply.

Noticing the clasp on the side of the locket, Steve pulled it open.

A picture of Peggy smiled at him and at once, the tears brimming his eyes threatened to spill.

"Ton.…" words failed him as he looked to the other side of the locket. The Avengers didn't have many pictures together as a team but Tony had managed to find one. And all the sudden the quote made sense.

"You're an idiot," Steve said after a moment.

"Come on, there's an even bigger surprise." Tony smiled at his friend as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE SUGGESTIONS! I'll get started on those when I finish the chapters that I already have planned.**


	3. The Bird's Nest

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry that it took me so long to update. But hey, at least I got started on the suggestions. I'll be working on them in the order in which I received them but you may find that in between working on suggestions I might stick in an original chapter. **

**So thanks for this chapter goes to Sargerogue who suggested "Natasha and Pepper shopping and Natasha kicking someone's butt while shopping." I used the basic idea but tweaked it some. I hope you don't mind. **

**Oh and along with the suggestion credit for this chapter goes to this post: **

alluring misery . tumblr . com post/27491252935/montselovesfood-captainshenanigans (if you want to check it out remove the spaces and copy and paste into the web browser bar)

**Only reason I put that there was because I didn't want to claim credit for an idea that wasn't mine.**

_**Pairing: Hints of Clint/Natasha **_

_**Summary: Tony gets bored and decides to buy Clint a gift. He takes Natasha shopping with him.**_

* * *

The Bird's Nest

Natasha didn't dream. That's why when a shrill ringing sound started to bounce around the darkness that shrouded her mind, she was annoyed.

Refusing to open her eyes, she pulled her covers up and turned around trying to make the ringing go away. It stopped for a moment and everything was bliss. Sleep started to dawn on her again and just as Natasha started to doze off, the ringing started up again. Counting to ten, she suppressed the urge to punch the wall. Instead she snuggled deeper into her bed, wrapping her covers around her and basking in the warmth that surrounded her.

It was a Sunday morning, she was off from work, and she refused to wake up before twelve.

Fate had a different plan. The ringing was relentless. Groaning, Natasha picked herself up and stared at the pale orange walls that surrounded her, waiting for her blurry vision to clear. Yanking her covers off, she stomped out of her bed room and through the living room. Upon reaching the main entrance door to her apartment, she threw it open; a stream of curses prepared for the dead man walking that had disturbed her precious sleep.

When she saw who was at the door, all profanities stopped short.

"Tony?" She asked in disbelief, letting her shoulders slump.

"Hey, were you sleeping?" The man asked, amusement lining his face.

"At seven in the morning on a Sunday, the only day I have off from work? No, not at all. I was wrestling bears in my bedroom." The spy crossed her arms over her chest.

Tony's smile grew bigger. Natasha didn't see what was so funny.

"No wonder it took you so long to answer the door. I had just about given up hope."

"What are you doing here, Tony?" Natasha didn't like beating around the bush for too long.

"So I was bored,"

Natasha internally groaned. Nothing good ever came from Tony Stark when he was bored.

"And I decided that I wanted to buy Clint a gift."

"What?" Natasha would never understand how the man's brain worked."

"I decided that I wanted to buy Clint a gift," Tony replied slower.

"Why?" By now Natasha was leaning against the door frame.

"Because I was bored," Tony replied as if that was the most sensible answer ever.

"I'm going back to sleep," Natasha backed out of the door was and began to shut it, when Tony pushed it back open.

"Come on, Tasha, just for the fun of it."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"Because you know Clint best."

"So you want me to help you pick something out?"

"Sort of. I already have something in mind,"

"I'm sorry, Tony, I don't do shopping."

"It's your day off, what else are you going to do? And imagine the look of happiness on Clint's face." She didn't know about Clint, but the look on Tony's face was telling her that he wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

"It's called relaxing. What about Steve, Bruce or Thor? What about Pepper?"

"It has to be you."

"And that's why I rather not come."

"Fine. I'll just tell Clint about that little accident with Josep…"

"You're a bastard, you know that, right? I'll come."

Tony flashed her the biggest grin he could manage.

"You might want to change first."

Natasha looked down at herself and realized that she was still in her pajamas.

"By the way, what type of store is open so early in the morning on a Sunday?"

"Don't worry about that. Just go change."

Despite her every sense screaming that this was a bad idea, Natasha obliged.

* * *

"What are we doing in a furniture store?" Natasha asked as she took in the vast store before her. The ceiling was high enough to fit a four story building into the store and no matter how far Natasha looked, she couldn't see the walls that held the ceiling up.

"Exactly how big is this store?"

"A little less than half the size of a football field and to address your earlier question, we're looking for cookie cutters. What do you think we're doing in a furniture store?" Tony's eyes were whizzing across the great expanse of the store.

"Uh huh…..you want to buy Clint furniture?"

"For a master spy, you're not so bright, are you? I had people clear out his apartment. He needs something new, something that screams 'I'm Clint Barton, a master archer, aka Hawkeye.' Nice ring to it, right?"

"You did…what?" Up till the current point, Natasha had been taking the store in, mindlessly following Tony, but now her steps stopped short, shock etched on her face.

"I had people remove all the furniture from his house."

"Why?"

"I told you. I got bored."

"How did you manage to do that?"

"I'm Tony Stark, baby."

Of course.

"And you're going to refurnish his entire apartment?"

"Yes. You're talking as if he lives in a mansion with a million rooms. I already went to his apartment: one small bathroom, a medium sized kitchen, a single bedroom, and a living room. Nothing grand really."

"And Clint agreed to this?"

"Who said Clint knew about it?"

"He doesn't?"

"Again, for a master spy you're not very bright."

"Where is he, then?"

"Steve and Thor took him out on my request."

"Out where,"

"Curious, aren't we. What happened to 'love is for children?'"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't harm you right now."

"The security will come after you. I'm pretty sure you can handle them, being that you're you and all, but then you would have to go on the run and it's a messy deal, really."

Sighing, Natasha decided that it was best to stay quiet.

After a few moments of walking around the store aimlessly, Natasha couldn't help herself.

"What are you looking for?"

"The bir….ah, there it is!" Spotting what he was looking for, Tony picked up his pace.

"This…you….are you serious? This is what you were looking for?" Natasha asked when they finally came upon the piece of furniture that Tony had been looking for; more specifically, the bed that Tony had been looking for. Circular in shape it was about the size of a king bed with a frame made out of woven strands of wood giving it an uncanny resemblance to a bird's nest.

"Shout's 'Hawkeye,' doesn't it?" There was a mischievous glint in Tony's eyes.

"I think you took his name a little too seriously."

"I don't. What? You don't like it?"

"It's not that…." Natasha couldn't find the words to describe what she was thinking. Leave up to Tony to pull a stunt like this.

"So then you like it."

"I…."

"Oh, I see how it is. You like it so much that you're speechless, right?" Now Tony was just teasing her.

"I need to find a sales assistant," and just like that Tony was off again. This time Natasha stayed where she was, taking in the bed. She thought about Clint's reaction when he would come home and find that his whole apartment had been refurnished. She could see what Tony was aiming for and imaging the look on Clint's face, Natasha began to chuckle.

"Yes, this one." In a few minutes Tony was back with a sales assistant.

"Of course. Are you going to be taking it by yourself or should we make the delivery?"

"The delivery. Is it possible to get it delivered right away after the purchase?"

"Of course, sir. Shall I check it out for you now?"

"Not right now, I still have more stuff to look at."

"Of course, sir." With that being said, the assistant wrote something down on the notepad, most probably the item number for the bed, and left.

Turning back to Natasha, Tony asked,

"Shall we continue?"

"We shall,"

Maybe getting up so early in the morning would pay off.

* * *

It was nearing ten at night when Clint got back to his apartment. Steve and Thor had taken him out to the outskirts of the city. There had been an archery tournament going on that Clint wasn't aware of. Needless to say, Clint was carrying a large trophy in his hand as he walked up to his flat.

After the tournament the three had wandered aimlessly through Manhattan, enjoying their day off. He had wanted to call Natasha to join them but Steve had told him that it was supposed to be a guy's day out. When Clint had questioned where Tony and Bruce were, Steve had said that the only time Bruce would come out of his house was when Tony dragged him out or when the fate of the world was at stake, something Clint knew very well. As for Tony, he was working on his new suit. For a while Clint had been suspicious since Cap seemed a little uneasy talking about Tony, but then he had let it go. All in all, it had been a fun day.

He felt a little bad about leaving Tasha all alone. Maybe next Sunday the two would go off on their own.

Opening the door, Clint walked into his flat, stretching. It might have been a fun day but it also had been exhausting.

He had freshened up, made himself coffee, and nestled into his bed before Clint realized that something was different. Blinking his eyes a few times, he saw that the room around him was different. His bed had transformed into a nest and his dresser was made out of a combination of tree trunks. Turning his head to his side he saw that his nightstand was fashioned to look like a tree stump. Getting out of the bed and placing his mug down Clint furiously walked out of his room into the living room, confusion written all over his face. His living room had been transformed to look like the inside of a tree. The sofa's resembled the bed in that they also looked like bird's nests. The wall's had been plastered with a wallpaper that was decorated with leaves and even the doors had been changed to resemble the common holes you would see in a tree trunk. The normal circular black and white clock that Clint had had, had been replaced with a birdhouse clock and the paintings that hung up on the walls portrayed different places in nature.

"What the hell," for a moment Clint wasn't sure if he was in the right house. Shaking his head he headed back towards his bedroom and stopped in front of his dresser. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he noticed something that he had missed before. On the corner of the mirror was a little post-it note. Taking it off of the mirror, Clint found that it read,

"Hope you like the redecoration. No need to thank me. –T.S"

"Oh gosh…busy working on his suit was he? I swear, when I get my hands on him…."

* * *

**A/N: Probably my favorite chapter so far but I'm not really happy with the description of Clint's apartment but oh well. **

**Once again thanks to ****Sargerogue for the suggestion. Sorry that I changed it up some, really hope that you don't mind.**


	4. Child at Heart

**A/N: Thanks to _Lena7623_ for the suggestion that the Avengers should teach Thor how to play Red Rover**

**Pairings: Tony/Pepper, hints of Clint/Natasha. Nothing major. **

**Summary: Stark Industries is holding a charity event for an orphanage. For the kids, they have set up many activities. Tony is forced to attend the event and while there he comes upon the rest of the Avengers. Somehow Steve managed to convince everyone to come. They all get forced into a Red Rover game against their will.**

**I apologize if my portrayal of the game is incorrect ... I've never actually played the game and my knowledge comes from website pages. **

* * *

**Child at Heart**

Tony was in his lab working on his suit when a holographic phone screen appeared in front of him, the ringing vibrating through the lab room. He didn't even bother to look up. It wasn't until after the ringing stopped that Jarvis spoke.

"That was Ms. Pepper calling."

"Okay," Tony mumbled. He continued working, using a screwdriver to tighten the bolts of the new mask that he had installed.

A moment of silence passed and then the ringing picked up again. Tony didn't understand why Pepper had to call him when she could just walk down to the lab.

"Well, it might have something to do with that fact that you've been in the lab for three days straight." His mind supplied. She was probably looking for a way to lure him out from his cave.

Once again Tony let the ringing die out.

The pattern repeated a few times before it became hard for Tony to concentrate.

"What is it, Pepper?" He semi snapped into the holographic phone.

"You remember that you're holding a charity event for the Ulmer Orphanage, tomorrow in Central Park, right?"

"Yes, I remember." Tony returned to working on his suit. He couldn't believe Pepper had bothered him for something so trivial. Well, actually he could, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he held charity events all the time and didn't see why Pepper had to disturb him for this one.

"And you know that the banner will say 'Stark Industries Charity Event hosted by Tony Stark?"

"No. Your point is?"

Pepper sighed.

"My point, Tony, is that you're going to have to be there tomorrow."

"It's my charity event, I decide if I want to go or not and I don't want to go."

"It's not an option."

"Whose idea was it to hold this charity event, anyway?"

"It was your idea."

"Oh. Okay then. But that doesn't mean that I'm going."

"No lasagna for a week."

Ouch. Tony had recently learned that Pepper made killer lasagna and it had fast become his favorite dish.

He decided to give the issue some thought.

"Take that back and add in that I can take you to dinner tonight and we have a deal."

Tony could just picture Pepper sitting in her office chair and smiling her smile that said that Tony was an idiot.

"Tony, I have work to do; I have to prepare for the event."

"Then we don't have a deal."

"How about the day after tomorrow?"

"No deal."

Now Tony was imagining the woman shaking her head.

"How about we order something today and then go out the day after tomorrow?"

"What will you order?" The woman was dangerous; she knew him too well.

"I'll get something from Marea."

Tony's stomach began to growl at the thought of the delicious sea-food menu that the restaurant had to offer.

"Fine."

"Great. Come up and I'll fill you in on the event."

The holographic phone screen disappeared as Pepper hung up. Looking down at his suit, Tony smiled.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to wait."

* * *

It was a beautiful day out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining. The wind had picked up, and as it passed through the vast Central Park field where the event was being held, children tipped over giggling, enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Tony would have been enjoying himself, too, if it wasn't for all the press.

As he walked through the green field, he smiled at nearby cameras and then quickened his pace. He wasn't in the mood to have a reporter shove a camera and microphone into his face.

Why had he let Pepper convince him to come again?

Well, it was almost worth it. Tony wasn't a big fan of children but seeing the little tykes running from place to place, laughing as they tripped over their own two feet, he couldn't help but smile. Kids of all ages were present at the event. His heart went out to these kids who had either lost their parents or had never known them.

For the event, Stark Industries had set up different stations throughout the field. Some stations were dedicated to sports such as basketball, archery, softball, and baseball. One station had a mountain of Lego's placed in it, accompanied by a toy chest, for those who were like Tony, and there was even a station surrounded by books. An area in the field had been cleared for games like tag.

As they ran around, assistants stood at random intervals around the field, keeping an eye on the kids and making sure that things ran smoothly. Other sponsors of the event also dotted the field, along with the orphanage workers and random passersby. The event was open to all in hope that someone would come along, looking to adopt.

Looking for Pepper, Tony wandered over to the miniature kitchen that they had set up. His best friend was currently helping a little girl put frosting on a cake.

"How cute," he mumbled coming up behind her.

Startled, Pepper turned around.

"Oh, it's you." She laughed uneasily, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"It's me." Tony stated, looking around.

Smiling, Pepper returned to helping the girl.

"Is this safe?" Tony asked as he eyed the oven.

"Yes. It's not a real oven. I mean … it is, but it's like those play ovens that you see advertised on TV, the ones that actually work. It's safe for kids to use. And anyways, I'm here for now."

"Uh huh,"

"You should go join in on something, too."

"Me?" Tony looked at Pepper with wide eyes.

"No, I was talking to Mr. Lorenzo next to you,"

Tony turned his head to find that no one was standing next to him.

"Ha ha, very funny … I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not? It's fun."

"Uh … I'm not a children's person."

Shaking her head, Pepper finished helping the little girl.

"Then go wander around." Tony didn't move.

"Who knows, I might rethink going to dinner with you."

"And this is why one should never have their girlfriend as their secretary."

The woman in question laughed before shooing Tony away.

Maybe he would go help out in the Lego center.

* * *

Tony was on his way to the Lego's station when he passed by the entrance (which was really just a big banner) and saw the rest of the Avengers standing by it. Judging by the fact that they were all dressed normally, they were probably here to visit the event.

Maybe this would be fun after all.

* * *

"What's up?" Tony asked coming up from behind Steve.

Slightly alarmed, Cap turned around to face him.

"Oh gosh, it's you."

"You're the second person to say that to me today. Of course it's me. Who else could it be?"

Natasha shook her head.

"What are you all doing here?" Tony asked. "Well I can understand Steve. Being Captain America and everything, he probably loves stuff like this," he winked at the man, "but don't you two have work? And who got you to crawl out of your hole, Bruce?" Tony teased.

"I could ask you the same, Tony." Bruce shot back, offering a small smile.

"It's Sunday. We don't have work on Sundays." Clint replied.

"Good to know that the world doesn't need saving on Sundays. But seriously, what are you all doing here?"

"Steve suggested we all come." Natasha answered.

"Aha! I knew it."

"So, what exactly do we do here?" Clint asked, looking around.

"Oh, you're going to love this. Just wander around like the lost souls that you all are until you find something of interest to do. The media's going to have a kick out of this. Just try not to break anything or anyone." And with that, Tony bid them goodbye.

"So ... what exactly do we do here?" Clint repeated his question.

"I'm going to head over to where Pepper is," Natasha informed everyone before walking away. She had spotted the woman and decided that it would be nice to spend some time away from the guys.

"I'll just go … sit over there." Bruce was the next to leave, heading over to a spot where no one would bother him.

"Is that a food stand?" Clint followed the others away from the circle that the Avengers had formed.

Steve turned and looked at Thor. The two started at each other for a moment.

"I guess that just leaves the two of us, huh?"

* * *

Saying that the Avengers were enjoying themselves would have been an understatement.

* * *

Clint had discovered the archery range and was currently teaching the young ones how to shoot. After demonstrating how to aim, he passed on the bow and arrow to the kids, telling them how to hold it and how to shoot in a way that they wouldn't hurt themselves. He would help the little ones hold the bow, and with his hand over their tiny one, would help them pull the arrow back and let go. Seeing the kids reaction when the arrow hit its mark was worth having been dragged to the event by his ear. For the elder kids, he would let them shoot themselves. Maybe after he retired from SHIELD he would become a mentor in the archery field.

* * *

Natasha had joined Pepper in helping the girls and boys bake cakes and other types of treats. She had never been one for cooking and being that this was her first time, she was doing quite well. As Pepper showed her how to make the cake batter, Natasha felt like one of the little kids. It was a nice feeling. She and Pepper had also begun a nice conversation on how it was being surrounded by the idiot men known as the Avengers.

It was nice having some girl time.

* * *

Bruce had been sitting on a bench, detached from the crowd, taking in the landscape. He was enjoying the solitude along with the beautiful day. Sadly, it didn't last forever. A little kid came running up to him, wearing a shirt that depicted his … well, the other guy's face.

"You're the Hulk!" The little boy exclaimed, his light brown eyes twinkling and wide with wonder. He came up to about Bruce's knee, if he were to stand, and his black hair was flying in every direction. With the soft rosy tint to his skin and freckled face, he was easily the cutest kid that Bruce had laid eyes on. The little boy's toothy smile was contagious

"Yes, yes I am." He answered.

"Oh my gosh," The boy was bouncing on his two feet, overcome with joy. "The Hulk's my hero!" He exclaimed and Bruce felt his heart explode.

"My name's Eric." The boy added as an afterthought. "Do you want to come and play with us? You look really lonely here all by yourself." The question was asked with such hope and such innocence that Bruce couldn't say no. He watched as Eric reached out and placed his tiny hand in his. Getting up, Bruce let the boy drag him over to the storybook nook.

"Guys! Guys! Look its Mr. Hulk!" Eric led him over to the middle of the station and instructed him to sit down. Bruce did as he was told and sat himself down onto the carpet. He watched as the kids stared at him, enthralled. A feeling of unease made Bruce fidget; he didn't really like being stared at.

"Aren't you supposed to be green?" One girl questioned.

"Well," Bruce began to answer.

"Oh gosh, Christy, don't you know anything! He's only green when he's the Hulk. Duh! Have you ever seen a green human before?" Eric cut Bruce off. The older man couldn't help but laugh.

"Here," placing a book in Bruce's hands, Eric went back and sat down with the rest of the kids.

"Um," Bruce turned the book over in his hands. What was the worst that could happen? It wasn't like he would Hulk out in the middle of reading out loud to the kids.

"Okay then," Bruce beamed at the children as he opened the book to its first page.

* * *

Steve found his feet dragging him to the mini theater that had been set up. He walked in to find kids dressed in costumes ranging from fairies to witches to doctors and much more. There were even some kids dressed up as Captain America. Grinning, he walked in and asked if he could join in. The shocked faces of the kids were too much. He was melting in a pool of adorableness.

The kids decided that he could join and told him that he would be the evil dragon in the play that would turn good in the end. Steve agreed, wondering what type of story could include doctors, fairies, construction workers, a group of Captain Americas and a few Hulks, Iron Mans, Thors, Black Widows, and Hawkeyes, witches, a pumpkin, a knight, and a dragon. There was also a kid dressed as Loki. Steve also wondered who had come up with the costume ideas and put in all the Avengers and Loki. It was probably Tony. He would enjoy seeing kids dressed as Iron Man running around all over the place … something to boost his already terribly big ego. Of course, they didn't have a costume big enough for Steve so he just settled for pretending.

* * *

Thor was moving from station to station, a kid in disguise. His favorite so far had been the playground where he had joined the Midgardian children in making castles out of sand.

Now he moved onto a field reserved for tag and other similar games.

A group of kids were standing in the field, having arranged themselves into two lines, some feet apart, facing each other. All of the kids had linked their hands together and were chanting something along the lines of Red Rover. Thor watched as one kid left his line and went running into the other. He ran as fast as he could, barreling through a portion of the linked arms and breaking through.

Interested, Thor moved in closer planning on joining one of the teams.

* * *

Tony had managed to build a Lego replica of New York City with the help of the kids at the station. Standing back, he beamed at the multi-colored model as the cameras clicked away. Just for the heck of it, one of the kids had fished out a plastic gorilla from the toy chest and had placed it on the roof of the Empire State Building.

Getting up from his knees, Tony dusted his hands off and looked around the field. Spotting Thor near the section where kids were playing Red Rover, he quickly excused himself and hurried over, hoping that he would reach the spot before someone got injured.

* * *

"Hey Thor," Tony reached the god just in time.

"Ah, my friend, does this not look like mighty fun?" Thor turned to him and spoke with glistening eyes.

Tony looked over at the kids just as one kid went running into a pair of linked arms.

"Uh … yeah … mighty fun … but, um, I don't think it's something you should play with little kids."

"Why not?"

"Um … we don't want any broken bones, fractures, internal bleeding, or bleeding in general."

"Then will you join me?" The whole concept of why Tony had stopped Thor was lost on the god.

"It's not really a two player game either."

"We can get the others to join."

"Ah … this is a very big field. It'll take some time to gather everyone." Tony was trying his best to keep Thor away. "Why don't you go to the, um, to the board game section or something?"

"I shall, after I try this."

By now a herd of reporters had wandered over to the section.

"Are all the Avengers here?" they all asked upon seeing that Thor was standing next to Tony.

"Are you about to engage in some activity?"…"Everyone would love to see the Avengers together at a charity event, where are the rest of the members?"…"Are you going to play Red Rover?"…"Will you initiate the game?" Question after question came flying at Tony.

Plastering a smile onto his face, he spoke.

"Guys, guys, calm down." He said to the blinking cameras. "Yes, all the Avengers are here, though I don't exactly know where they are. We're not actually going to join in on the festivity, here. More like Thor and I came to watch."

"It would make for good publicity," "The children would love to see their favorite heroes all together, playing some sport," "Everyone would love to see the Avengers enjoying themselves doing something normal,"

Too soon, Tony saw that he couldn't win.

"Well, okay, but I have no idea where the others are. So … up to you guys to gather them."

The crowd disbanded.

"So, Man of Iron, are we playing or not?"

"Let's see."

* * *

Steve was in the middle of tickling the knight that had come to slay him, to death, when he was interrupted by a reporter.

"Mr. Rogers?" The man with the microphone questioned.

"Yes?" Steve replied, straightening up.

"Mr. Stark requests that you come down to the open sector of the field."

"Um," Steve looked back at the kids and then at the reporter.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something," He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It'll only take a while."

Sighing, Steve turned back to the kids.

"I'll be back in a little while, okay?" After seeing them nod, Steve jumped off the stage and followed the reporter.

* * *

Bruce was just about to begin reading his second book out loud, when a little girl came up to him.

"Mr. Hulk, sir?" She questioned in a soft, shy, voice.

"Yes?"

"People are calling you to that place." She pointed to a certain section of the field. Bruce followed her fingers to a section of the field that was crowded with reporters.

"Uh…" Bruce looked down at the book in his hands and then up at the kids. "I'll be right back," he said to them, getting up and following the girl.

* * *

Clint had just finished hosting an archery competition when a reporter came up to him.

"Clint Barton?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you please come with me? Mr. Stark is asking for you."

"Uh … sure," he said to the reporter. Then, turning back to the kids "You guys go on ahead. I'll be right back. Don't hurt yourselves, especially you, Jacob."

* * *

Natasha was putting the final touches on the chocolate cake that she had managed to bake.

"Wow, that looks delicious." Pepper came up from behind her and said.

"It does, doesn't it?" For her first time baking something, Natasha had done a pretty swell job. "I hope that it tastes as good as it looks."

Pepper laughed.

"It probably does."

"Are you Ms. Romanoff?" Both Pepper and Natasha turned their heads to look at the man that had wandered into the station.

"Yes." Natasha answered.

"I request that you come with me. Mr. Stark is waiting for you."

Natasha blankly stared at the man.

"And why is he waiting for me?" she questioned.

The man grinned.

"Why don't you ask Mr. Stark that for yourself?"

Natasha looked at Pepper.

"I don't know what's going on," the other woman supplied. Then looking out and noticing the big crowd that had formed around one of the sections, she groaned.

"I think you should go," she said to Natasha.

"Oh well," looking sadly at the confectionary that she had made, Natasha got up and followed the man.

* * *

"Why'd you call us all here, Tony?" Steve asked as he joined the other Avengers, who had already arrived at the scene.

"Well, I didn't really call you here," Tony began but was cut off.

"We are to join the Midgardian children and play this sport that they call Red Rover!" Thor informed everyone.

"What?" Bruce was speechless.

"This is why you called me here?" Natasha looked exasperated.

"How do you play Red Rover?" Steve questioned.

Clint just stared at Tony.

"Um … lets divide ourselves into teams first. Since there are six of us there should be three on each team. I'm taking Steve and Thor." Tony went along with the ridiculous idea, just for the flashing cameras.

"Ah … no." Clint shook his head. "That's not playing fair. Steve and Thor can't be on the same team together. Not in the beginning anyways."

"Fine then. I'll take Thor and Natasha. Is that fair?"

"So, I guess it's me, Bruce, and Steve."

The Avengers sorted themselves out according to which team they were on.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Tony mumbled under his breath.

"I agree." Natasha replied. "Why am I on your team again?" She questioned.

"Wouldn't want to give you the pleasure of holding Clint's hand in broad daylight, now would we?"

As obscurely as she could, Natasha kicked Tony in the shin, not too gently.

"Okay … so how do we play?" Steve asked once again.

Tony took on the job of explaining.

"My side will be team one and your side will be team two. What happens is that you all have to stand in a line and link hands. Since we're team one, we'll go first, but what happens is that you'll have to chant 'Red Rover, Red Rover, send insert name right over.' Whoever gets called has to run as fast as they can into a pair of linked arms and has to try to break the arms apart."

"Isn't that … dangerous?" Steve asked eyeing Thor. "They let little kids play this?" He added.

"Yeah … so, anyways, if the person manages to break through then he picks someone from the other team to go back to his team with him. If he doesn't, he has to join the team. Since we're only playing with six members, it shouldn't be too difficult or long." Tony finished explaining.

He turned over to Thor.

"Did you get all of that?"

The god nodded eagerly.

"Okay then."

The Avengers stood silently on the field, not moving.

"Ugh, let's get this over with." Tony said as he grabbed the hands of Natasha and Thor.

Tony watched amused as Clint, Bruce, and Steve, uneasily held each other's hands. And they called him immature.

"Remind me to swing back here later to look for my lost dignity." Clint announced.

"Will do," Tony shot back.

And so the game began.

* * *

Tony felt ridiculous chanting but he had no other option. The sharks were circling around the six friends and to get out alive, sacrifices had to be made.

The first move was made by Tony's team, calling Bruce over. As expected, Bruce couldn't break through the linked arms. It was probably due to the fact that he wasn't trying.

For their turn, Clint and Steve called Natasha over. As Natasha wasn't able to break through the linking arms, Tony called out "Betrayal!" She too, probably hadn't tried.

It was once again Tony's teams turn. Accessing the situation, Tony decided that if he called Steve over and if Steve chose to ram into his and Bruce's arms, he would succeed in breaking them apart. Instead, he settled for Clint.

Clint aimed for Tony and Bruce's linked hands and Tony braced himself for the impact. Needless to say, Clint failed.

Next, Tony was called. Because he wasn't in the mood and because he had never been one for running, Tony weakly rammed into Steve and Natasha's linked arms.

The teams were now Tony, Steve and Natasha on one side and Thor, Bruce, and Clint on the other.

They had to get the game moving. So far no one had called on Steve and Thor, since those two were the biggest threats.

Clint had the bright idea of taking the risk.

"Give 'em all you got." Tony said to Steve before letting go of his hand.

As expected of him, Steve barreled through Bruce and Clint's link.

"Now choose someone to come back with," Tony called out to him.

Steve being Steve, he chose Bruce.

The game continued onward. Players were switched back and forth and Thor still hadn't been called. The god began to grow impatient. The game seemed like fun but he hadn't moved at all.

After a few more turns the teams went as Steve, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint on one side and Tony and Thor on the other. All the Avengers began to grow fidgety. The game had been going on for quite some time now and they all wanted to stop. By now the crowd surrounding the Avengers had grown, due to the fact that the kids had joined the group.

"Time to give them a run for their money, okay, point break?" Tony mumbled to Thor.

Thor nodded, anticipating his call.

Clint did call on Thor and the god broke away from Tony, running at the speed of light. He ran into Natasha and Clint's link sending their arms flailing. The two stumbled and their whole chain moved backwards. Thor continued running a few feet before he stopped. Looking back he grinned at Tony, waiting for his approval. Tony shot him two thumbs up.

"I'll take Steve back to my line." The god proudly announced.

"How much longer?" Clint groaned, rubbing his arms.

Tony shrugged, looking out to the crowd.

"When we're all on one line,"

And so they continued.

Finally, the game came down to Natasha, Bruce, Steve, Tony, and Thor on one side and Clint on the other. Clint had called on Tony to come to his side and Tony did his best to break the hold that Clint had on Bruce's hand. He wanted the game to end. After breaking their hold, Tony and taken Bruce with him, back to his line.

Now it was Tony's turn and he called had no choice but to call on Clint. As the archer started to run, his posture shouted that he wasn't even going to try. Running into Tony and Thor's hands, he couldn't manage to break them apart.

Finally the game was over.

The crowd cheered, much to the confusion of the Avengers. After getting a few shots of the Avengers together and the Avengers with the children, the reporters disbanded.

The heroes could finally breathe in peace.

"I am never agreeing to go to another one of Tony's charity events. Ever." The master archer announced. "My arms hurt like hell."

"My stomach hurts from barreling into arms," Steve added.

"It might have been tedious, but admit it, you all had fun." Tony cut off the complaining.

Everyone stared at him.

"I greatly enjoyed myself." Thor announced. Of course _he_ had.

"Well … I guess." Steve replied uneasily. Playing with the kids in the theater had been fun, but he wasn't so sure about the Red Rover aspect. Though, he had to admit, the expressions on his friends' faces when someone ran into their arms had been hilarious.

"I'm going back to the archery station."

"And I'm going back to my cake."

"I promised the kids I would come back and read to them,"

"Yeah, I'm going back to the theater."

"I shall also return back to the normal festivities."

Once again, the Avengers separated. Tony stood in his spot, rubbing his arms.

"You're going to get to take Pepper out to dinner," he reminded himself. In the end his aching arms would be worth it. And anyways, working with the kids on his NYC model had been fun. Still rubbing his arms, he returned to Lego's station.

* * *

**A/N: So, hopefully, it didn't disappoint. **


	5. Happy Birthday, Dearest Nephew

**A/N: Hey guys! Sooooooooo sorry that it's taken me so long to update!**

**But hey, at least this chapter's really long ... though it's not so good ... well, at least I think it could be better. **

**Thanks to pointyearsrule for the suggestion "maybe we should get a peek at why Thor is not allowed around Midgardian animals" ... I got a little carried away ...**

**Pairings: Tony/Steve, hints of Clint/Natasha.**

**Summary: It's Peter's birthday and he wants to go to the zoo with his dads, beloved uncles, and aunt. **

* * *

Happy Birthday, Dearest Nephew 

Steve smiled as the smell of pancakes reached his nose. All he had asked for was toast and coffee, but when did Tony ever listen to him?

As he waited for Tony to finish making breakfast, Captain America sat at the dining table, skimming through the day's newspaper, a routine that he had settled into when he first moved into Stark Tower years ago.

Half-way through the sports section, Steve felt something tugging at his shirt. Looking up from the paper he turned to find a little boy, still half-asleep and in his blue spaceship pajamas, standing next to his chair and rubbing his eyes.

"Peter!" He exclaimed, placing down his paper and grabbing the boy from under his arms. Picking him up, Steve placed Peter in his lap and gave him a small hug.

"Wow, you woke up early today. It's only seven."

The four year old nodded.

"I could … could … food." The child explained, yawning.

Steve laughed.

"Tony's making pancakes."

"I can tell," Peter replied leaning into Steve.

"You didn't freshen up, did you?" Cap brought his hand to the youngster's already tousled light brown hair and ruffled it.

"No …"

"How will you eat if you haven't brushed your teeth?"

"But dad …"

"No buts, young man. Go freshen up."

Instead of getting off his lap, Peter moved in closer to Steve, so that his head was resting on the grown man's chest, and wrapped his tiny arms around his waist. Closing his eyes, he spoke.

"I'm still sleepy."

"That's because you woke up two hours earlier than usual."

"Mm …"

"Hey, don't go back to sleep."

Groaning, Peter straightened himself up.

"I'm going to the bathroom." He announced before getting off of Steve's lap and heading out of the room.

Steve's eyes trailed after Peter, a large smile gracing his lips.

He still remembered the first day he had met Peter, who at that time had been a few months old. He had been sitting with Tony in Stark Tower's living room, watching TV and chatting, when Fury had barged in and presented them with a small bundle of blankets. He had told the two how Peter's parents, both SHIELD agents, had been murdered and that since Stark Tower was Avengers HQ, Peter was now the responsibility of Tony. In reality, the situation was that Fury had been giving orders to take care of Peter, but being that he was Fury; he had passed on the job to the Avengers … specifically Tony.

Being that, at that time, Steve and Tony had been going steady for quite some time and that Steve was living with Tony, the two decided to share the responsibility and for as long as Steve could remember, Peter had referred to the both of them as his dads. Tony was always telling Peter to call him by his name and not refer to him as dad, that it was annoying and embarrassing, but Steve knew that Tony did actually quite like it.

The said man chose that moment to appear, one hand carrying a tray with two cups of coffee and the other carrying a tray with two plates of pancakes.

"I thought I heard Peter," he said after quickly scanning the room and placing the trays on the table.

"He went to the restroom," Steve explained. "This smells delicious." He added as he took one of the plates.

"Of course they do, I made them." Tony sat himself around the corner from Steve, and took his plate and cup. "I didn't make anything for Peter, though. I should make another batch."

"Eat first."

By the time Peter came back, the two men had finished eating. Steve was now quietly sipping away at his coffee and Tony had occupied himself with studying new blueprints for his suit.

"Dad!" The four year old cried, running towards Tony.

"No running in the house, Peter, how many times do I have to tell you? You'll get hurt." Tony said to him as he stopped next to his chair.

The little boy giggled and tried to climb up into Tony's lap. After a few failed attempts, Tony took pity on the poor kid, who was a little short for his age, and swinging an arm around his waist, picked him up and placed him in his lap.

"Are those designs for your suit?" Peter asked upon seeing the holographic blueprints that his father was fiddling with.

"Yes, yes they are." Turning away from the blue prints, Tony rested his eyes on Peter.

In the beginning, he didn't really understand why SHIELD would go out of its way to save a baby, but then as the years passed and Peter grew older, Tony saw in him an intelligent boy, who could one day become a great hero.

"Hungry?" He asked.

Peter nodded.

"Here, have the rest." Tony said, gesturing to the mountain of chocolate chip pancakes in his plate.

"Wow … that's a lot."

"I made a lot of batter."

Peter laughed and began to reach for his knife and fork.

"Actually, you're right. That is a lot." Tony pushed the plate away from Peter.

"Steve, pass me that plate will you."

Captain America obliged, watching the exchange, greatly amused.

"Here," Tony said as he cut the number of pancakes in half. "You've been getting chubby lately. I suspect it's all that candy that Clint feeds you."

"Daaaadd! Stop!" Peter whined as Tony pulled his cheeks.

"I always hated it when people did that to me as a kid." The older man mused out loud.

"But you do it to me all the time."

"It's because you have chubby cheeks."

"You're worse than Aunt Pepper."

"I'm telling her you said that."

Steve laughed. Some time's he couldn't tell who the kid was between Tony and Peter.

"Fine, fine, don't look at me with those doe eyes, you're as bad as Thor, I'll let you eat in peace."

Grinning, Peter turned himself around, turning his attention over to his food and Tony returned to his holograms.

For a moment, silence engulfed the table.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Peter asked in between bites, breaking the silence.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Peter." Tony and Steve replied simultaneously.

"No, I don't have plans. Do you, Steve?" Tony added as an afterthought.

"No," Steve replied.

Peter scrunched his eyebrows and continued eating.

"Are we forgetting something, Steve?" Tony suddenly turned to him and asked. "I have a feeling there's something really important tomorrow that we're forgetting."

Steve knew better than to take Tony seriously. Shaking his head, he played along.

"I don't know … maybe you have a meeting or something."

"No, it's not that …"

Peter couldn't take it any longer. Twisting around in Tony's lap, he placed his small hands on either side of Tony's face and looked him in the eyes.

"It's my birthday!" He exclaimed, his voice slightly cracking.

Tony laughed.

"We know sport," he said as he ruffled Peter's hair. "We're just teasing."

"That's why we don't have any plans for tomorrow, either." Steve added.

Understanding dawned on Peter's face and his lips formed a small "oh."

"Did you have something special in mind that you're asking?" Tony asked.

Peter eagerly nodded.

"I want to go to the zoo!" He cried happily.

"The zoo?"

"Yes."

"The zoo?"

"Yes, dad, the zoo."

"Why do you want to go to the zoo?"

The question caught the four year old off guard.

"Why do I want to go to the zoo?" He asked.

Tony nodded.

"Tony … does it matter why he wants to go?" Steve asked from behind his coffee mug.

"Just curious … I mean, come on, Peter, you sure you want to go to the zoo when you can go anywhere in the world? Zoos are boring."

"You're going to end up spoiling him," Steve commented. Tony flashed him a grin.

"I want to go to the zoo because Uncle Bruce got me a book on animals and he was showing me the pictures and they looked really cool and I wanted to see them in real life."

"You sure you want to go to the zoo?"

"Tony!"

"Yes!" Peter yelled, pumping his tiny fists into the air.

Tony took one look at Peter's excited and hopeful face and felt his resolve break. There went his plans to take Peter and Steve out to dinner. Well, if he thought about it, a soon to be five year old would enjoy going to a zoo more than going out to dinner with his parents.

"Fine … the Central Park Zoo is a few blocks away from our house, anyway."

"And, dad, one more thing …"

"What is it?"

"Can you invite Uncle Clint, Thor, and Bruce, and Aunt Natasha?"

Tony's eyebrow twitched. Looking Peter straight in the face, he urged himself not to all prey to the child's cute face and adorable doe eyes.

"Peter," he began slowly. "Remember what happened last time we took all your uncles and Aunt Natasha out somewhere?"

The four year old giggled. "Uncle Thor got us kicked out of the Empire State Building because he almost broke the antenna." He stated in between laughs.

"Yes, yes he did. Now, you see why I'm against the idea of taking the circus gang to the zoo?"

"Tony, what's the worst that could happen?" Steve asked from his chair.

"I don't know, Steve, I don't know. And that's why I'm not willing to take any risks."

"But dad!"

"No buts,"

As much as his parent's spoiled him, Peter Parker was not a spoiled child and therefore he didn't pout. Instead, he looked towards Steve for help.

"Come on, Tony. It's his birthday."

"No, Steve."

"You know, I'm pretty sure that they'll all show up in Stark Tower's doorstep anyway. You know how Thor and Clint are."

Tony sighed. After himself and Steve, Thor and Clint were Peter's two most favorite people and they too, loved Peter beyond all reason. They wouldn't miss his birthday for anything.

"Clint and Natasha will have work." He said in the end.

"It's Sunday tomorrow." Peter replied.

"God damn. I seriously don't understand that. It's not like the world doesn't need saving on Sundays."

"You say that every time," Steve grinned at him.

Now, Tony had two pairs of pleading eyes turned towards him.

Eyebrows twitching with annoyance, Iron Man had no choice but to give in.

"Fine, but if Thor ends up running away with a lion or something, it's your fault." He said, pointing at Steve.

"Thanks dad! I love you!" Peter exclaimed, suddenly throwing his tiny arms around Tony's neck and hugging him tightly.

Well, if he's that happy, I guess it'll be worth it, Tony thought to himself. And then out loud,

"It's also your job to call them, Steve."

"Don't worry about it."

"I won't."

Once again, silence settled between the three, the only noise being the clutter of the silverware Peter was using.

"Well, if we're done here, I'm going to go work in my lab." Tony announced, closing the holograms and stretching.

"I'll see you later, tyke." He said to Peter as he picked him off his lap and placed him on the ground.

With one final stretch, he got up and headed towards his lab.

"So, dad, what ya gonna do today?" Peter turned to Steve when Tony could no longer be seen.

"I have to go to SHIELD HQ today," Steve replied, looking over at the wall clock. It was fifteen minutes to eight, he had to be at SHIELD by nine.

"Can I come?" Peter asked eagerly.

"Sorry, little guy, I have to go to a meeting. How 'bout you go bother Tony in the lab?" Steve said as he picked up his plate and Tony's.

Peter grinned. Picking up his plate from the table, he followed his dad to the kitchen.

"I would, but I don't think he'd let me. The blueprints he was looking at were for his rocket launchers and I don't think he'd let me near his suit because he'd think that it's dangerous."

Steve paused to look at him.

"Besides the fact that that would be dangerous … since when could you understand the gibberish that is Tony's blue prints?"

"Come on, dad, I learned how to hold a screw driver before I learned how to walk, and I learned chemical equations before I could properly talk."

"That's true." Steve grinned, placing the plates in the sink.

"So when are you calling Uncle Bruce, Thor, and Clint, and Aunt Natasha?"

"Must you always say all their names? Isn't it a mouth full?"

"I like their names, they're fun to say."

Steve chuckled.

"I'll see if I can find Clint and Natasha at SHIELD, I'll call Bruce and Thor when I get home."

"Oh … so … can I come with you?"

"I'm going to be there for a few hours … and you know what Fury'll say."

Placing a hand over one of his eyes, Peter laughed.

"This is not a damned day care, Rogers." He mimicked the director.

"Yup."

"Then I'll just play with Aunt Pepper."

"That's a good idea."

"That'll be all, Rogers." Fury spoke as he closed the file in front of him.

* * *

"I'll check up on it as soon as I can," Steve responded, following Fury's lead and closing the file. Pushing his chair back, he got up from the small black table that he and the director had been sitting at. Looking around the small conference room, he sighed.

"I'll take my leave then,"

After nodding to Fury, Steve turned and left the room. Now to go find Clint and Natasha; hopefully, the others would be with them, too.

* * *

"Rome? Rome_?_ Our next assignment's in _Rome?_" Clint asked, baffled.

"I don't know why you're so shocked," Natasha replied calmly, looking through the folder in her hands.

"It's _Rome_."

"Why are you two here?" Bruce asked, looking up from the vials in his hands. Clint and Natasha were currently lounging around his lab table. Recently, it seemed that their favorite hangout spot had become his lab.

"There was nothing to do after our briefing." Clint replied.

Shaking his head, Bruce chuckled.

"Well, some people do have something to do."

"You know you enjoy our company," Clint shot back.

Bruce was about to respond, when the sound of someone knocking on the lab's door caught his attention. Looking over at the glass wall, Bruce smiled upon seeing that it was Steve.

"Hey," Cap greeted all of them, opening the door and walking into the door.

"Hey Steve," Natasha shot him a small smile.

"Are you going to Rome, too?" Clint asked, gesturing to the folder in the other man's hands.

"Rome?" Steve asked confused.

"Ignore him," Bruce and Natasha replied at the same time.

"No, um … something came up with Dr. Richards and his gang."

"'His gang?' You make it sound as if he's some mafia leader or something … Ow! What was that for?" Clint rubbed his arm, where Natasha had swatted him with her file.

"Some one's pretty talkative today," Steve commented.

"Oh that reminds me! Tomorrow's Peter's birthday, right? What are you guys doing?" The archer turned his attention back to Cap. Natasha and Bruce looked his way, too.

"I don't understand the connection between the two, but, Peter said he wanted to go to the zoo, so we're taking him to the Central Park Zoo." Steve replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh … and here I was thinking that I would barge into Stark Tower and spray you all with confetti."

"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Clint?" Steve chuckled. Then, "He said he wants all of you to come along, too."

"Well, if that's Peter's wish, then we'll be there!" Clint boomed, swinging an arm around Natasha's shoulders. After slapping the side of the archer's head with the back of her hand, the super spy shrugged his arm off.

"The zoo?" She questioned.

"Yeah …"

"I've never been to a zoo, that'll be fun."

"What?" Clint gaped as he turned towards the woman.

"Did Natasha Romanoff just say that going to a zoo will be fun?" He mocked. This time he was able to avoid the punch coming towards his face.

"But, yeah, I've never been to one either. It'll be fun,"

Three pairs of eyes turned towards Bruce.

"It's not like I can say no when Peter especially requested it, can I?" He said, his gaze not wavering from the tubes.

"Great … now, all that's left is to find Thor."

"Thor? He went to New Mexico a few days ago." Natasha informed Steve.

"Yeah, I know … but isn't be back by now?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders.

"He came back this morning. He should be with either Fury or on his way here."

Conveniently, the god entered the room at that very moment.

"My friends, I have returned from my voyage!" He boomed, as loud as ever.

"It was getting a little too quiet around here," Bruce mumbled causing Natasha to chuckle.

"I agree," she responded.

"Hey Thor, we're going to the zoo tomorrow!" Clint broke the news to the god.

The smile on Thor's face faltered slightly.

"What is this zoo you speak of?" He asked, his tone serious.

Bruce brought his hand to his face.

"Uh …" the archer scratched his head.

"You'll see tomorrow," Natasha offered.

"Is there something amiss in this zoo?"

"No, Thor, we're going there for Peter's birthday."

"Ah! Young Peter's coming of age!"

"It's his fifth birthday, Thor, I wouldn't really call it his 'coming of age.'" Steve said weakly.

"Fifth birthday? Time has passed by too quickly! I still remember when he fit in the palm of my hand!" Thor laughed. "If it is for young Peter than I shall be at this zoo."

"Yeah, we'll come get you." Clint informed him. "What time, by the way?"

Steve shrugged. "Around three?"

"Sounds good … anyone else hungry?"

* * *

"Dad, when are they going to be here?" Peter asked as he circled around Steve's feet.

"In a few minutes, Peter." Steve responded. Currently, he was standing outside the main entrance to Central Park Zoo with Tony and Peter, waiting for the other's to arrive.

"Peter, you're making me dizzy." Tony said as he looked over the top of his sunglasses at the boy.

Grinning, Peter continued to walk in circles around Steve.

"Peter!" A sudden cry pierced the air.

Stopping short, Peter turned to look in the direction of the voice to find his beloved aunt and uncles walking his way.

"Uncle Clint!" He cried, running towards the man who was walking upfront.

"Hey squirt!" Clint bent down just in time to grab Peter from under his arms and lifted him up. After lightly tossing him in the air, Clint put him down.

"Happy birthday!" He greeted.

Laughing and giddy with joy, Peter hugged Clint and then moved on to the next person in line.

From Natasha, who also picked him up to hug him, he was passed on to Bruce, and then finally found himself in Thor's arm.

Booming with laughter, Thor held Peter high up in the air.

"How have you been, young one?" He questioned.

"Good," Peter replied back.

"So what adventures await us today at this zoo?!" Thor asked as he put Peter back on the ground.

"Well, I was thinking that we should split up, since our party of seven is a little too big. In an hour or so we can meet up back here and then go get something to eat or, you know, do whatever." Tony explained.

By now, the Avengers had gathered in a small crowd in front of the entrance to the zoo.

"That kind of defies the point of having us all come," Bruce responded, Peter nodding in agreement.

"Hey, I did say we'll meet up after a while."

"I, for one, don't mind," Clint spoke up, moving a little closer to Natasha.

"Great then, let's split up. I'll take Peter and Steve." Tony grinned as he put on hand on Peter's shoulder and swung the other around Steve's shoulders.

"I get Tasha,"

"I guess that leaves you two. We'll meet up back here at," Tony looked at his watch. "At four thirty sounds good."

Then, nodding at his friends, Tony dragged Peter and Steve into the zoo.

"We'll see you later!" Little Peter yelled back.

"So then, where to?" Clint asked, turning towards Natasha.

"What type of snakes do you think they have here?"

"You know, Tasha," Bruce began to speak. "Despite the fact that they don't have poisonous snakes here, even if they did, you couldn't extract anything from it due to the fact that too many people would be around."

"You saw right through me, Bruce." Natasha smiled at him, "I still want to go, though …"

"Then lets … and then we can check out the bird habitats."

Grabbing the spy by her arm, Clint walked into the zoo.

"I guess that leaves us," Bruce said turning to Thor.

"Thor?" He asked when he found that the god was no longer at his side.

"My friend, come here! Look at this creature!" The familiar loud and joyful voice reached Bruce's ears. Following the sound of the voice, Bruce walked into the zoo, only to find Thor craning his body over one of the fence of one of the habitats, a lopsided grin on his face.

"What happened, Thor?"

"Look!" Thor gleefully pointed at red panda that was laying on the dirt ground of the habitat, blinking at Thor.

"It is most adorable, is it not?"

"Uh … yeah." Bruce replied as he scratched the back of his head, looking around at the families that were also gathered around the habitat.

"I wish to pet it. I still do not understand what this 'zoo' is, but I think I like it!" Thor announced as he began to climb over the fence.

"What? … Thor, wait!" Bruce grasped Thor by his shoulders and pulled him back, fully aware that all eyes had turned towards them.

"What happened, my friend?" Thor questioned, his eyes twinkling, his face innocent.

Bruce brought his hand to his face.

"You can't just climb over the fence; they have it there for a reason. And you can't pet it either."

Thor's grin slightly fainted and suddenly, with the god's pleading face turned towards him, Bruce was very uneasy.

"Uh … they have a petting zoo; we can go there if you want. You can pet the animals there."

"We shall go to this subdivision after we finish exploring this main base."

Bruce's mouth slightly fell open.

"You've been spending too much time hanging around SHIELD." He said after a pause.

* * *

Clint shuddered as he watched the yard long python slither through the branches and leaves on the ground of its habitat, through the glass wall.

Shaking himself, he turned his head to his right to find Natasha standing with her hands and face pressed against the glass.

"What are you doing?" He asked, laughing.

"I had a pet snake as a little kid." She said, her tone wistful.

"You had a pet … snake … as a little kid?"

"Yeah, I was seven. On one of my first missions I messed up really badly and the in-charge killed him because of it."

"… Wow."

The said air surrounding the woman disappeared, replaced by a grin, as the python slithered up to the glass, so that it was right in front of the two agents. Raising itself up, it hissed at Clint before turning to Natasha and tapping the glass.

"It doesn't like you," Natasha grinned.

Clint took a step back.

"I can't say I like it much either. I have goose bumps all over my arm just looking at the thing … it's kind of creepy."

Looking at his friend, Clint saw that his words were lost on her.

"You look like a little kid," he chuckled.

That seemed to snap Natasha out of her haze.

Clearing her throat, she straightened up.

"Lets go see the Mynah."

"The what?"

"The Mynah, didn't you saw you wanted to visit the bird habitats?"

"What type of bird is a Mynah?"

Natasha shrugged.

"There was a board somewhere on the way here that said that they recently made a bird habitat to house an extremely rare bird called the Bali Mynah."

"Mynah."

"Yes, Clint."

"That's a really funny name."

Natasha raised her eyebrows at him.

"Who looks like a little kid?" She asked.

Clint laughed.

"Lead the way."

* * *

"Monkey's!" Peter screeched as he squirmed out of the grip that Steve had around his hand and went running to the habitat.

"Peter!" Steve called out after him.

"Let him be, he's having fun."

"But Tony …"

"Let him live a little."

"Dad, dad, look!"

Slowly, the two Avengers made their way to the monkey habitat.

"Interesting, Peter."

"You don't sound interested at all," Steve replied.

"Hm …"

"It looks like your beard upside down, dad, but with eyes, a nose, and a mouth."

Tony turned his attention to the animals, trying to see what Peter saw, as Steve tried to muffle his laughter.

"Ha ha, Peter, what an active imagination you have." He said when he failed to see the resemblance.

"But it does!"

"Hm …" Tony tilted his head. "Maybe if you turn your head this way and squint your eyes and stand upside down … then yeah … I can almost see it."

Peter giggled. A moment later and a strange shrill sound pierced the air.

Startled, Tony jumped slightly, arms instinctively wrapping around Peter.

It turned out that the strange sound had been the monkey laughing.

"You got scared," Steve teased.

"Psh …" a pause, "Why do I feel that it's laughing at me?" Tony asked as the monkey shot him a toothy grin, swinging a banana peel in front of its face.

Sensing trouble, Steve stiffened up.

"Tony, you're not going to start something with a monkey." He warned.

"I am not starting something with him, he's laughing at me. Look!" Tony pointed to the primate, who was indeed laughing.

Steve shook his head.

"It's a monkey."

"I don't think he likes you very much, daddy." Peter supplied.

"Good, because I don't like it either."

Out of nowhere, a banana peel came flying and hit Tony straight on his face.

From all around, gasps of surprise could be heard from onlookers.

Tony's eye brow twitched in annoyance.

"I fucking told you it was laughing at me." He said.

"Don't curse in front of Peter, Tony."

"It's okay dad, dad does it all the time in his lab."

"I'll have that beast put to sleep! Damn it!" Tony seethed. He wouldn't have gotten so mad if he, Steve, and Peter had been the only ones there. He would have probably laughed, thrown the animal a death glare, and walked off.

"Animals don't like you, do they dad? Remember when we had that pet dog, Josh? He bit you and then ran away and never came back."

Steve laughed. "I remember that! We took him out for a walk and … oh gosh," Steve continued laughing.

"It's not funny!" Tony and Peter replied at the same time.

"See, Peter's on my side."

"No, you getting bitten was funny. Josh running away wasn't. I still miss him."

"Well, I'm never ever getting you another dog again."

The monkey's laughter reached Tony's ears again.

"Are you sure that's not some hybrid monkey/hyena thing?"

"That was a terrible joke." Peter informed the older man, his face scrunched.

"It wasn't a joke."

"I think we should move on."

"No!" Tony snapped his head back towards the monkey's habitat.

"I'm not done here!"

"Yes, yes you are." Grabbing Tony by his collar he dragged the man away. "Come on, Peter."

"Coming, dad."

"It's sticking its tongue out at me!" Tony complained, scrambling to get out of Steve's hold.

"Let it go. It's just a monkey."

"That's why it's pissing me off!"

"Oh look! Peter do you want to feed the giraffes?"

"Yes!"

* * *

"Thor, no, you can _not_ ride on its back!" Bruce groaned as he used all his strength to pull Thor over the hip high wall surrounding the elephant's habitat back onto the path way. He had looked away for _one second._

"Why not?" Thor asked.

"Because you can't!"

"But, why not?"

"Thor?"

"Yes, friend?"

"You can't ride on the back of the elephant. Wait till we get to the petting zoo."

"But the creature is so fascinating ... it looks like it would make a fine steed; better than a horse."

Bruce sighed.

"Doesn't matter, okay? You can't do stuff like that. And anyways, it wouldn't be better than a horse."

Thor sadly nodded.

"Come on, lets go." Bruce turned around and began to walk, constantly turning his head back to make sure that Thor was following him.

A while passed and no accidents occurred. Then, Bruce made the mistake of walking past the lion's habitat.

As he and Thor walked by, a roaring sound pierced the air.

"What is that?" Thor asked, turning his head side to side.

"That." Bruce said pointing. He watched as the thunder god hurried over to fence. Slowly, Bruce followed him.

"What is it?"

"It's called a lion." Bruce replied, eyeing the animal as it laid under the shade of a large tree.

"It looks like a regal creature. Its coat would make a nice present for my mother."

"Thor …" Bruce's tone had a clear warning in it.

"Do not worry, my friend. You're words are clear in my head."

"Good."

"Aren't you Mr. Hulk?" Bruce felt something tugging at his shirt. Looking down he saw a little girl.

"Uh … yeah." Bruce replied, smiling. He'd gotten used to this by now.

"And that's your friend, Thor." The kid continued, this time pointing.

Bruce followed the angle of the girl's pointing finger. Looking up he saw that Thor was already half way to the lion, who was looking at him with half lidded eyes.

"Thor! What did I say!" Bruce screamed after him.

"Not to ride on the back of the elephant!" Thor yelled back.

Bruce brought his hands to his head. He wasn't so much as worried about Thor as he was about the lion.

"Where's security?" He asked weakly. He would go in after Thor himself, but if the lion decided to pounce, Bruce didn't want the other guy making an appearance.

Of all the people, why did _he_ have to get paired up with Thor?

"Hello, lion." Thor greeted the creature. From its position under the tree, the wild cat rose, opening up its eyes.

"I must say, you have beautiful golden hair." He said, reaching his hand out to familiarize himself with the animal, a trick he had seen Clint use with the birds that perched on SHIELD head quarter's rooftop.

The lion eased from its tensed position. It could sense that Thor didn't mean any harm. In fact, all Thor wanted to do was feel the creature's fur.

Smiling, Thor changed his slow cautious foot steps to a confident stride.

Just as he was about to reach the cat, two strong and large hands gripped him around the arms.

"What?" He asked, turning his head side to side.

Two large and buff men, dressed in crisp button downs and dress pants, and seized him by the arms. The badge on their shirts stated that they were the zoo's security.

"We mean you know harm, please back out of the habitat." One of the men said to Thor, slowly tugging him away from the lion.

"But, I have to …" Thor struggled against their hold. Just as he was about to break free from their hold, Bruce called out.

"Thor, come back!"

The god thought it over for a moment. Finally, admitting defeat, he ripped his arms out of the guards hands and walked back to the wall. Climbing over the wall, he landed next to Bruce with a soft thud.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, my friend." Thor whispered, hanging his head.

Bruce smiled. Maybe him getting stuck with Thor was for the best.

"Hey big guy, don't look so down. Come on, it's only a little more to the petting zoo. You'll love it." Grabbing Thor's arm, Bruce began to walk. This time he was going to make sure that Thor didn't get away.

* * *

Clint yawned as he finished throwing the last of the bird seeds to the ducklings. He and Natasha were currently standing on a bridge, chatting and enjoying the weather, observing the mother duck and her children in the pond that was below the bridge.

"This is one heck of a zoo, isn't it?" He said to Natasha and he shook the now empty bag of food.

"Yeah … it was fun, but don't you think we should find the others?"

"Hm …" the archer lazily turned his head from side to side, stretching.

"I don't know about Steve and Tony, but I'll take a wild guess as to where Thor and Bruce are." He pointed at a sign that had just caught his eye.

Natasha burst out laughing.

"The petting zoo? I can't imagine Thor and Bruce in a place like that."

"I can."

"Don't tell me that that's an excuse to have us go there."

"It's not. Let's give it a shot."

"Fine."

* * *

"What is this ball of fur?" Thor asked as a little white animal came hopping towards him and nudged his foot.

"That is a rabbit," Bruce informed him, looking around.

For some reason everything seemed brighter in the petting zoo. Little kids were running around, while parents slowly trailed behind them. Animals like ducklings, chicks, and rabbits walked around freely while horses stood in a stable. Not really Bruce's type of place but, oh well, at least Thor would stay out of trouble here.

"Hey, Thor …" Bruce turned back towards the god to find him sitting on the floor, cross-legged, buried in a mountain of small furry animals.

"Tho …" the man decided that it wasn't worth it. Sighing, he looked for a place to sit.

The god laughed.

"This tickling sensation won't go away!" He exclaimed.

"Obviously. You have furry creatures running up and down your body, dangling off your arms, and sitting on your head."

Thor grinned at Bruce.

"Um … Thor?" Bruce turned around to find that Clint and Natasha had also arrived.

"Hey," he greeted them.

"What's Thor doing?" Clint asked.

Bruce shrugged.

"He looks like a little kid." Natasha smiled.

"Yeah, we've established long ago that Thor is a kid in disguise."

"Would you like to join me, my friends? This is quite fun."

"Ahahaha, no thanks, Thor." Clint replied, accompanied by Natasha's nods.

"Where are Tony and Steve?" Bruce asked after a moment of silence.

"They'll wander over here sooner or later." Natasha replied.

And indeed they did.

"Oh my gosh, Uncle Thor!" Peter's voice bounced around in everyone's skulls.

"Oh look, we're all here."

"What's with the grumpy face, Tony?"

"Shut it, Clint."

"Is anyone hungry?"

"Me." Bruce and Natasha answered Steve.

Hearing a sudden outburst of laughter, all the Avengers turned back around to face Thor.

Thor had somehow made room for Peter to sit in his lap and now the little kid, too, was covered in furry animals.

"Peter! That's not safe." Tony cried, every bit the caring parent he denied being.

"It tickles!" Peter replied back.

Sighing, Tony took out his phone.

"Did someone ask if we're hungry? 'Cuz I'm voracious. We have a reservation at the Mirage at six, it's currently 5 thirty. Perfect." Returning his phone to his pocket, Tony looked up.

"Hey, over-grown child and Peter, it's time to leave."

Later that night, Steve and Tony were sitting on the couch in Stark Tower's living room, watching the news.

"I'm so tired." Steve said stretching.

"Go to sleep, then."

"Mm … I should go check on Peter."

"He's probably fallen asleep by now. Poor kid was exhausted."

Steve chuckled.

"I know, I know. He had a lot of fun, though."

Tony tore his eyes away from the screen and thought.

"I guess … it was fun."

Steve yawned.

"Go to bed, Steve." Tony grinned at him before turning back to the news.

"Good night," and with that Steve headed towards Peter's room.

"Are you still up, Peter?"

The child looked up, startled. He hadn't noticed his father come into his room. He'd been too preoccupied.

"What's that you got in your hand?" Steve asked, noticing a lumpy shadow. He moved closer to Peter's bed.

Peter grinned, holding his hands out so that Steve could see clearly.

"Where'd you get that?!" Steve asked startled, his voice rising to a slight yell, when he saw the small duckling in the child's hands.

Peter's grin widened.

"Uncle Thor's birthday present!"

* * *

**A/N: I have no idea what this even is. I mean ... I just don't know.**

**I didn't proof read this so sorry for any mistakes. **


End file.
